Frozen - Tales of the Heart
by LeGrande Grover
Summary: A series of individual short stories based on The Snow Queen and the FireHeart, mostly focusing on the Elsa/Yasha romance.
1. Nightshades of Tomorrow

**Nightshades of Tomorrow**

In an abrupt and surprise gesture that was quietly taking the kingdom of Arendelle by storm, the radiant Queen Elsa invited the fiery Prince Yasha to dinner. It was disguised as a formal engagement that included the visitors of another kingdom, all in an effort to mask the attraction that had been growing between them since the fall of Fria, and a ring of nobles sat around the large table, a wreath of aristocracy that included the crowned-prince of Overlake and his wife, as well as several younger lords and ladies from the most renowned families in and around Arendelle. For her part, Elsa wasn't known for such formal gatherings, but as she glanced across the fresh flowers and ornate tableware to her guests, she felt an unusual giddiness in stark contrast to her anxiety. When her hopeful eyes found Yasha, his appearance so very different than the dangerous and wild creature she had journeyed with to the FireHeart, her heart raced further, for while she would openly deny the whispers that circled her castle, the entire evening was designed to bring him there, into the royal arena she was herself unaccustomed to.

"Well, what shall we talk about?" the queen quipped, breaking the silence that lingered over the table, even as she twisted her hands nervously out of sight.

There was no answer. Many of the others had been whispering among their own circles, mostly about the various social flubs of her infamous guest, while the delegation from Overlake had simply been trying to remain proper. Elsa couldn't dispel her own thrashing mood, but had high expectations of the evening, especially as she once more glanced over to Yasha, who was sitting so stiffly in his place that he appeared to be part of the furniture.

The continuing silence was touched by a chilly air in the room.

"If I may," the prince of Overlake began, though he seemed exceptionally nervous as he glanced across the table, furthering his obvious fixation on the notorious prince of Fria, "Prince Yasha, is it true that the palace in Fria was built right into the side of a volcano?"

While seemingly innocuous, the subject was of great interest to all, but stirred up a very defensive expression on Yasha's face.

"Yes."

"That's astounding! I don't believe I've ever heard of such a thing. What was it like to live in such a place?" the prince continued excitedly, unaware of the truth of Yasha's past.

Elsa paled and moved to speak, but Yasha's vicious tone cut away any other sound in the room. "It was a foul and terrible place, carved into the heart of the sacred mountain, where the very ground beneath you might swallow everything and regret nothing. You should not admire such senselessness."

The blunt response made whispers flare and the prince of Overlake was embarrassed, though he simply retreated from his attempts to talk with Yasha.

"Right. I suppose when one thinks about it, living in a volcano isn't the wisest of ideas," he admitted.

The atmosphere became oppressive once more. It was apparent that everyone in the room had questions for Yasha, from his pardoned crimes of kidnapping Princess Anna to the details of his reclusive kingdom, but it was just as obvious that everyone in the room was intimidated by him, especially when it came to his notoriously fierce eyes. Even Elsa had a hard time figuring out how to handle the mood, even as it was she that arranged the meeting and was the matriarch of the castle. It was just as true that her interest in Yasha wasn't chained merely to curiosity, for ever since he had come to her kingdom, she had been captivated by his presence, a strange consequence of seeing so much of his heart, and an aspect of their lives that was quickly thrust into the conversation as one of the ladies of Arendelle could no longer contain her intrigue and probed yet another topic on the forefront of everyone's minds.

"Then you must tell us what it's like living in the castle in Arendelle. I don't think the royal family has had a guest since I was a child," the lady remarked, giving Elsa a sideward glance and secretly enjoying the way the subject was flushing through her skin. "To be invited by the queen herself was so shocking that I thought the regent would simply faint. Everyone is just dying to know what it's like living in the castle."

"_Tell us about you and Elsa."_

It wasn't difficult to read between the lines and judging by the way both Elsa and Yasha reacted to the question, their interest only grew. "Yasha…._Prince_ Yasha was invited to stay in the castle because he's the heir to Fria and his people now live within Arendelle's borders," Elsa suddenly blurted out, her hands twisting even more and her heart harboring the powerful desire for her magic to somehow cool the fire that was burning in her cheeks, "It's only proper that a prince reside in the castle. I'm not sure why everyone finds that so strange."

Trying to regain her poise, she nodded firmly to that point and closed her eyes, if only to spare herself leering expressions of those at the table. With the Snow Queen flustered and Yasha also bothered by the subject, it only furthered their inquisition.

"But still, to have a young man reside in the castle with our unmarried queen, not to mention the princess…" the woman continued, and was supported by her equally mischievous companion.

"The princess that he kidnapped," she chimed in.

"And stripped bare at knifepoint," the prince of Overlake suddenly added, though was instantly rebuked by his wife for joining in on something that was not their business, though fully illustrating how far the stories had gotten.

"It's quite scandalous, is all," the first woman continued.

"To those who care about such things," added her companion.

This sudden assault on Yasha wasn't what Elsa had planned for when she imagined the evening, though with how brazenly people were in their attitudes towards him, she berated herself for not seeing it coming. With his illicit past, he made easy pickings for the whispers of the world, something that didn't usually seem to bother him, much to her admiration, yet as he sat there at her table, abused by these casual accusations, he appeared beaten, far worse than he had been when dying before the FireHeart. She knew he already had reservations at staying, wishing to leave the castle and fade into the ranks of his people, wanting a common life in spite of being so uncommon.

It felt like she had to appeal to him daily, if only to keep him close.

Suddenly, as if no longer able to endure the abuse, Yasha stood so harshly that the table shuddered, making those that spoke out against him yelp in fear, for they all feared him, even as they spoke behind polite smiles. Even Elsa didn't know what to expect from him, for she knew the fierce look in his eyes better than anyone, and the capacity for destruction he wielded. Her heart raced, but her lips were frozen.

She still feared him sometimes as well.

"I will excuse myself."

It was all he would say before he turned from the table and stormed from the room, leaving everyone staring after him in shock. As he always had, he defied all convention by leaving without the consent of the queen, before any of the food had been served and amidst what seemed like the most benign of conversations. Instantly, the whispers flared about his behavior, which was so unlike a prince that his bloodline was in question, even if that was something that Yasha himself endorsed.

Elsa was torn at what to do. Her guest of honor had fled, yet her others guests sat talking of him as if he were some foreign thing not suitable for the table they shared. Her instincts told her that as queen, she should simply dismiss his behavior and entertain them, for she was the host of the evening and not required to cater to any single person, even if that person was the whole reason she had brought them together. She also knew her other guests would be intently watching to see how she reacted, to try and confirm the many suspicions of her feelings towards him. If she showed him preferential treatment, it would be the admission of her interest in him, something she had been desperately trying to hide from everyone.

Should she chase him, they would all know that her attention on him wasn't in passing.

As abruptly as Yasha, Elsa rose from her chair, prompting half of her guests to awkwardly do the same. "I…" she started, unsure how she would justify it, then realizing that the more she hesitated, the further away he would be become, and so she simply resolved to move forward at the beckoning of her heart.

"Excuse me as well. Please, begin the meal," she said and signaled the servants, then hurried after him, ignoring their whispers and the scandal her actions were sure to inflame.

Fleeing into the hallway, she whipped her head around, trying to find any sign of him before seeing his figure retreating into the distance, his pace quick and obviously hot. With little regard for anything else, she chased after him, calling a few times before finally causing him to stop in a part of the garden that was thankfully empty, for she was already so unsure of her own motives that she couldn't bear for her behavior to be witnessed by others.

"Yasha," she called as she caught up with him, slightly out of breath from their chase and the state of her heart, "Please come back. It…it's just talk."

"It is not just talk," he huffed back, sparing her the anger in his eyes by focusing on the subtle beauty of her garden, fixing them on a large, manicured plant with beautiful purple flowers. It oddly captivated him for a moment before he fell back into his well of anger.

"It is truth. I do not fault them for their words. It is just…"

She panted a few more times, trying to crane around to see his face, but slightly afraid to do so. "What?" she asked.

Finally, he turned to face her and she marveled at the mixture of anger, shame and reluctance in his eyes. His striking expression was added to a growing list of things that made him burn within her heart.

"I cannot do this, Elsa," he admitted, though she had no idea of his meaning and only blushed at the familiarity of her name on his lips.

"Can't do what?" she asked, almost breathless.

"This," he repeated, holding his hands out to present the creature that stood before her, "This uniform does not suit me. These regalia are a farce. I am more the criminal they make me out to be than this prince that parades before you."

"But...you are a prince, Yasha," she reminded him.

"Do you not understand? I am more pauper than prince!" he groaned, turning and pacing before her to try and vent away some of his heat. "You know how I lived before coming here. You have seen it! I did not have tutors teaching me the finer points of conversation. I have never known servants or silverware, and have slept on stone more often than I have bed sheets."

"And your peers mock me, as if I have never known civility."

Elsa opened her mouth to speak but felt inadequate to temper his heat. Seeing her try to defend him did cool him slightly, though as he continued to think of her efforts to assimilate him into her world, he sighed bitterly, realizing just how far apart they really were.

"I am as unsuited to this life as you were alone upon your mountain. I am an imposter to this role," he wailed.

Elsa was frustrated yet again. This was a recurring conversation, one she thought she had settled many times before. She continued to watch him struggle with this life, amazed that someone so resilient could be defeated by such trivial things. She knew that being royalty was as difficult as any trade, but even she had learned to handle it in spite of years of isolation and fear, something that prompted her to keep trying to persuade him. "If you'd just give yourself a chance, I know you can find your place here. I…" she continued, though found it as difficult in expressing herself to him as she always had, wishing that the message of her heart was as simple as the message she was reluctant to tell him.

"I want you to find your place here."

He sighed, seeing the obvious affection in her eyes. The most daunting part of his frustration was that he wanted to find a place near her as well, but felt unable to do so. He had defied fate, defied his father and even defied the will of the FireHeart. Now, he suffered defeat at the simple, silly etiquette of her royal world, something so infuriatingly bizzare that he was ashamed by his inability to overcome it.

"I am sorry, Elsa. I do not know how," he admitted, fearful of turning away from her grace but unable to respond to it.

With a single, pathetic glance, he backed away from her hopeful eyes and walked away, finding that in spite of all he had accomplished, in all he had done, laying his claim upon her heart was the most impossible task, if only because he suffered an unsure heart.

Elsa's chest fell as she gasped, looking to the ground as he left and feeling a coldness wash over her unlike anything she had felt before. It felt as if everything had just ended, quietly and without fanfare. Even as she had often tried to define her feelings for him and had just as often come up wanting, she had no idea how to feel as he walked away. It was like emptiness, but twice as deep. She couldn't admit that anything had ended because nothing had every truly began, but that didn't make the despair any lighter or any less painful. All she knew was that seeing him walk away from her was the exact opposite of what she wanted, though she had no idea how to make him stay.

For a moment, she shivered at the end of her first love, without ever really feeling she had it in the first place.

Returning to the dinner, the queen quietly slumped into her chair, ignoring anything her guests had to offer and only thinking about how terrible she felt. The awkwardness of the evening had been a mere shadow for what followed, for no one knew what to do when she was obviously so distraught and any measure of victory they had for driving away the scandalous Prince Yasha fell away to the regard they had for her mood. She didn't eat when food was presented to her. Her eyes wouldn't rise to their voices. It was as if she were frozen, victim of a coldness she couldn't control.

Long after the others disappeared and the table was cleared, Elsa rose from her place and walked solemnly into her castle, still strangled by her dark and frigid mood. She was looking for Anna, for her sister was really the only person who could chip away at the shell around her and the only one who she could cry to. Ironically, she didn't even know why she felt like crying, but her heart had been mysterious lately. All she knew was that she wanted Anna and the shoulder she would undoubtedly provide.

"Well, you look terrible. I don't think I've ever seen you make such a face."

Anna's voice pierced the air and couldn't have come at a better time, but as the hopeful Elsa looked up to meet her beloved sister, she found that the princess wasn't talking to her but to another figure standing at the other side of an ancient pillar.

When she heard the other answer, Elsa instantly ducked behind the stone, as fearful of the voice as she had been any other thing in her life.

"While I would question at what point you became an expert on my mood," Yasha replied, then sighed heavily and was obviously as troubled by the situation as Elsa, "I find there is little that escapes your all-seeing eye, Anna."

Finding that he had beaten her to Anna's side, Elsa felt strangely angry, though with equal parts of anxiety and excitement mixed in. Trying desperately to keep her breathing quiet and twisting her fingers together at her chest, she stared forward, in opposite direction of the two that mingled behind the pillar, not sure whether she should make her presence known or simply find another time to approach. It was the both of them that she wanted to see, even if she couldn't think of what to say to either, so she remained behind the pillar, clutching the cold stone as if she were a part of the castle.

"You got that right," Anna remarked smugly, though her voice then became noticeably softer. "So I take it the dinner didn't go well?"

Yasha snorted, with sounds of his hands running through his carefully crafted hair. "You have a gift for understatement," he replied heavily.

"The dinner was a disaster."

"Oh, come on. It couldn't have been that bad. You didn't light the tablecloth on fire or something, did you?" she asked impishly.

"I could have done no worse had I set the room ablaze," he groaned, not even bothering to maintain his secrets about the FireHeart buried in his chest. "They were questions, Anna. Simple words, yet I buckled against them like a coward and made a fool of your sister. What defense do I have against their truths? How could I possibly spare her the humiliation of my past?"

"For a guy who goes around kidnapping princesses, throwing fire from your hands and leveling entire volcanoes, you sure whine about the dumbest things," Anna sighed.

Yasha sighed as well, butting his head back against the stone pillar.

"That is hardly helpful."

"Okay, you did some questionable things in the past, but don't think you've paid enough for them? I mean, you died_, _Yasha! Who can even say that?" Anna said, feeling weighed down by his mood. "And maybe you're a little too good at those questionable things, but that's not who you really are. You're a better person than you give yourself credit for, and that's good enough for me."

"And it's good enough for Elsa too."

Hearing it retold, Elsa was reminded of the reasons she chased him, in spite of all of the reasons she shouldn't. In truth, he was all of those things the others accused him of, but also the person that Anna championed as well. He wasn't just the criminal and not just the prince, but infinitely something more. His duality only made him more beautiful and even thinking about it made an aching smile cross her red lips.

"It does not seem good enough for your Arendelle's court," Yasha argued, the bitterness apparent in his voice.

The princess blew a raspberry through her lips, obviously not giving much weight to that. "What do they know? Besides, they'll come around once they see all of the wonderful things that you have deep inside. You know, like really deep. Bottom of your feet, actually," she teased, hoping to lighten his mood.

When he only scoffed once more in response, she decided to lessen the jokes and go back to the honest, embarrassing things she felt for him, those same things that she knew Elsa shared.

"You're in love with her, right?"

The question made Elsa's heart seize and she nearly chirped loud enough to reveal herself, though she had been quick to cover her mouth to try and eavesdrop on something she hadn't been expecting. Her blue eyes simply rolled to the side, as if she could see what kind of face he was making when being asked such an important question.

Yasha let out a strange sort of laugh.

"Why do you ask me questions of which you already know the answer?"

Standing on opposite sides of the pillar, Elsa mirrored Yasha inversely, leaning forward in terrifying anticipation while he leaned back against it, his eyes cast upwards in reflection of his affliction. He suddenly sighed and gave into the truth of it, as if was as daunting as the fate he had severed with her help, if not infinitely more unconquerable.

"Though I am even more ignorant of love than I am of being a proper prince, there could be no other way to describe how I feel for her," he admitted.

"I love her."

The answer made Elsa's knees weak and she once more stifled a gasp, though now her eyes were glaring forward in awe, her mind still trying to process what her heart had long-since understood. Yasha revealed his feelings in many ways, some that she recognized instantly and others that took a great deal more time, but while she had been certain there was something between them, it had never been stated so bluntly, so much so that there was no way for her to escape them. While she felt bad for hiding from them, to know how he truly felt was exhilarating, if not utterly frightening.

There was no more getting around it. Yasha was in love with her.

And she was certain she was in love with him.

"Well, at least you'll finally admit it, in your own frilly kind of way," Anna sighed, as if she had known all along and was only now being vindicated.

Then she muttered to the side, "Now only if I could get Elsa to be so honest."

Not hearing the last part, Elsa walked away from the opposite side of the pillar, her hand still over her lips and her other arm wrapped around her. She needed time to think about what had been said, for whatever doubts she had been feeling were instantly shattered by his confession, making her previous dilemma seem distant and moot. It was no longer a simple matter of trying to help him fit in, for the stakes were far higher and the consequence critical. She knew where he fit now, but that puzzle was as daunting as trying to conceal her powers from the world. She was keenly aware of the many forces against him being there, with so many voices speaking out against it, but she was also now aware that no matter how difficult it seemed to let him go before, giving in to the currents of the kingdom when she knew of his feelings made the idea of parting unbearable, so much so that she was already trying to figure out how to bring him back to the table.

As an idea flashed into her mind, an embarrassing and outrageous idea that would afford her no pretense, her pace picked up as she headed back towards the dining area, a new expectation of the evening already swirling in her mind.

Elsa knew it was up to her to answer Yasha's feelings.

* * *

Bowing to the currents of reality, it was several nights before Elsa worked up the courage to send for Yasha again, though she was completely unsure whether he would comply. She had been waiting in a smaller room, though the placements were just as grand and far more intimate. Unable to sit, she was pacing by the table, tapping her hands together nervously as she tried to distract herself with anything else in the room.

Just as she reminded herself yet again to calm down, the door was broken open and a guard allowed Yasha to enter, once more dressed in the finest formal wear and neatly groomed, painted to play the part of prince for yet another uncomfortable night.

Seeing him froze her in place and their eyes met across the empty, quiet room.

"Am I early?" he asked after a moment, still pulling at his collar and stepping reluctantly into this world she had created as the door was closed behind him.

She flushed, stepping towards him but unsure of the expression she wore. "No," she squeaked, as much surprised by her voice as he was, though she had already tried to prepare her for this task and clung to the courage she had tried to gather beforehand, "You're right on time."

Her anxiety revealed her mood and he took a look around the room, as if something was just waiting to leap out and assault him. His tense posture was contagious, though she quickly moved forward before she lost all of her nerve. "I thought that this might be a little quieter for us…for you. To make you feel more comfortable. I can't really do anything about the servants, and all we have is silverware. I'm not even sure I can provide the finer points of conversation," she explained, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear and taking another small step towards him, though retreating just as quickly, for she had no idea where to stand or how to act at the moment.

"I know this isn't the life you're used to, Yasha, but if you give me a chance, I'd really like to help you be the prince that I know you are, without all of the other distractions. I really just want you to be here."

"With me."

Yasha let a slow breath out from his nose, staring at her with the same ferocious eyes he had so often showed her. He hadn't expected to be ambushed like this and his clenched jaw showed how delicate the subject was, but to see the queen of Arendelle fidgeting as she tried to dig through his masks made his indignation subside, for while the entire prospect of becoming something he wasn't left a bitter taste in his mouth, it might also be the only way he could move forward towards the things he now wanted.

And the thing he now wanted most was standing right before him.

"All of this, just to search for some prince lost in the shadows of his past?" he said, still retaining the reservations in his heart. "I did not expect you to be so bold."

She laughed nervously, rubbing her arm and trying to shrug off his observation. "Yeah, you and me both," she replied.

His neutral response made her flush even more, though she had come so far in her pursuit of him that no action seemed unruly, as if nothing she could do at this point would embarrass her further than how she already felt.

Squaring his shoulders back and trying to embrace the part, he suddenly stepped forward to close the distance between them, quietly amused at how his approach suddenly sent new waves of fear through her blue eyes and made her posture stiff and frozen. While he wouldn't admit it, he still reveled in the effect he had on her. "And what would you do with this prince, should you find him beneath the pauper's shell?" he asked, slowly and deliberately reaching out and taking her wrung hands, calming them even as he threw her heart into a torrent of anxiety.

Her mouth hung as heavily as her breath, her eyes ensnared by his equally bold behavior. In truth, she hadn't really thought that far ahead, but she was emboldened by his admission to Anna, the claim that she already had a measure of his heart. With no around see their intimacy, she was pulled by the desires of her own heart and parted her lips to speak, even if she had no idea what she would say.

"Shall we begin, Your Majesty?" asked one of the servants, who had stuck her head into the room at the most inopportune moment.

Being caught in such close proximity to him made Elsa yelp in surprise, with her tenuous control over her magic shattering at the state of her heart. There was a flash of light where their hands met and he suddenly jumped back, grunting as he shook his hand, which was covered with a fine layer of frost.

"Yasha! Oh, I'm sorry! Are you all right? Let me see," Elsa cried, trying to get a good look at what she had done to his hand.

"No, it is nothing," he replied quickly, seeing how fearfully she reacted and trying to diffuse her fear, "I am frighteningly accustomed to being at the mercy of your magic. That was rather tame compared to the past."

While his humor was notoriously dry and often misunderstood by anyone other than Anna, Elsa found it relieved her considerably, though she continued to try and comfort his frosted hand. "You know I'd never do that on purpose. I was just a little surprised, that's all," she said, giving the servants a sharp glance before looking back and letting a sigh of relief settle over her as she watched him shake off her ice.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she pressed again, though was happy for a chance to once more seek his hand.

Tucking his hand behind him, he waved off her concerns. "I have endured worse," he noted, then tried to move them away from the subject by gesturing towards the table, "Come now. You have gone to great lengths for this evening and I would not see it ruined by a little misplaced magic."

Following his suggestion, the two moved in and sat across from one another, trying to settle in as fine foods and drink were set out before them. Elsa could still see the anxiety in him from being served, especially the way he leaned away from the servants as they moved around him, but she was confident she could break through that and help him relax. In spite of her intent, the silence at the beginning of the dinner was oppressive. He showed reluctance in all that he did and she was quietly surprised at just how much he didn't know about polite society and table manners. She often had to remind herself that this prince didn't just miss out on the luxuries that a palace afforded, but had lived for many years like a wild animal. Sometimes she wondered how he had become as polite and well-spoken as he was.

In time, they found their pace as they recalled their most emotional common ground; the journey together to Fria. For a subject heavy with pain and tragedy, it was the most intimate thing for them and she found that asking about Oma and the well-being of his people lit an entirely new light within him, for he spoke of them with such affection that she felt a strange sort of jealously, though just as much happiness at having this unique place upon his path.

She was glad to have this connection to exploit.

Talking of these inclusive things took them beyond the meal, holding them together as they left the dining room and strolled through the quiet halls of the castle, where the night had thinned out the usual hustle of servants and maids. Only the occasional guard was privy to their nighttime stroll, with their voices hushed by protocol and privacy, but struck by an unusual lightness that didn't often follow, yet seemed so right.

Even after the clocks of the castle were striking past midnight the two of them walked, sometimes in silence and sometimes so close they could touch, but seemingly so content that time was as far from them as the sleeping kingdom and the fatigue couldn't sway their beating hearts.

It was only until they found themselves before the queen's bedchambers that the passage of the evening found them, and they were as unsure of what to do about one another as they were sure of their own desire not to part.

Elsa had been looking up into Yasha's eyes for longer than she remembered. Being alone with him had stirred up many memories of their journey to Fria. Hate and anger had been their beginning, but now it was something just as potent that possessed her. She found her mind long enough to turn to the Royal Guard that stood by her door, smiling and laughing in violation of her station, though completely unable to hid her emotions.

"Can you give us a few moments?" she requested, not sure why she didn't just order it as a queen should, but then looked back to her elusive prince, trying to quietly calm her staggered breathing and voice.

"Alone."

The guard appeared reluctant to obey, but then quietly bowed his consent, leaving them outside of her room and at the mercy of the evening. She had returned to gazing up into his gray eyes, while Yasha was completely smitten by her, though tried to distract himself from their occasion by looking after the guard for a moment.

"Your Royal Guard is quite attentive. Do they stand at your door every night?" he asked.

She responded with a slightly giddy laugh. "Actually, they've only started that recently. Regent Stenson called it 'precautionary effort in light of foreign guests residing in the castle.'"

He laughed a quiet, strange laugh. "To protect the queen from anyone that might try to steal away into her chambers, no doubt," he suggested.

She laughed again as well, though her humor failed her and she once more found herself looking up at him expectantly, though utterly unsure what she demanded. "He's just being careful," she assured him, her chest rising and falling so forcefully that she hoped he didn't notice, though a part of her desperately hoped that he did, "But maybe he should he worry about it, what with a certain someone's habit of taking members of the royal family from their rooms at night?"

"A wise precaution, though perhaps they would be better employed in protecting your guest, for he is surely more at risk at being stolen away," Yasha sang softly, once more reaching out to take her hand into his, which was shaking in return.

His touch made her gasp softly, but she wouldn't back away this time. This overwhelming feeling of love was petrifying, as strange to her as was the bloodlust she had felt when they had first met, yet it was a feeling she didn't want to forget, embracing it instead. Her lips were moving with a thousand things unsaid and she had no idea what would happen should he sudden press his advantage through her door. This fear was unlike the common fears of her life, yet infinitely more alluring.

Secretly, she had sworn to give herself to him, no matter his demands.

"Thank you for this, Elsa," he suddenly said, bringing her out of her daze with equal amount of shrouded fear in his eyes, "Tonight was far more to my liking. I hope we would to do it again."

Whatever fantasies she had were washed away by reality and she fought to contain the mixture of disappointment and relief she felt. By bringing their evening to a close in a professional manner, he spared her the scandal of giving in to the moment, striking up her awe at how well his instincts guided him when proper instruction couldn't. It was his ability to surprise her that continued to stoke the fires in her chest.

"Me too," she replied.

While she had been strangely denied of something for which she was not prepared, she couldn't stand to end the evening with such formality and drew in a deep breath, finding that this sort of attack on him was far more daunting than when she used her magic against him. With her intent plainly set in her eyes, she stepped close and arched up on her toes, capturing the side of his neck with her free hand and pressing her red lips against his cheek. The kiss was unassuming, but it rippled through her with such force that she had to stay there for a moment, for she was sure if she were to meet his eyes after doing something so embarrassing, she would simply die. His hand had instinctively caught her at her waist. His skin against hers was warm and inviting. The loose, awkward embrace they shared made her want to stay they forever, and her mind was amazingly lucid, yet completely in disarray.

She hated this effect he had on her, but loved it all the same.

"Goodnight, Yasha," she whispered toward his ear, holding to his hand as tightly as she could before retreating away from him to flee to her door, where she pressed against it for a moment, turning her head as if she couldn't miss seeing him one more time, though then giving in to her fear of him and how he could easily break her resolve.

She couldn't look back after all.

Elsa quickly pushed through the door and closed it between them, if only for the remainder of the night, while she pressed her back against it at the other side, her fingers to her lips, which were smiling and trying to hold to the memory of him. All of the currents of resistance fell away to the tingling sensation on her lips and she wouldn't be distracted by the way elements of the kingdom opposed them. Her feelings for Yasha transcended logic or common sense, forged by a journey of pain and connection, which only made her think of him more fondly and stripped away all other considerations.

It was unavoidable.

She was in love with him.


	2. A Tale of Two Princes

**A Tale of Two Princes**

In the endlessly sapphire waters of the Southern Seas, the merchant ship _CounterPoint_ was cutting through the waves, having recently taken a load of cargo and passengers from a port in the Southern Isles, not the least of which was a royal delegation of a single, young prince and the elder advisor assigned to him. It was a trip among many, and the purpose almost seemed moot. This was simply routine, scaled against the much bigger destiny that awaited the young prince just beyond the horizon.

The spray of salt water greeted him as he exited the cabin, and the roll of the ship bumped him playfully into the railing as the sun was slowly dipping into the distant horizon. Looking into the brilliant oranges and reds, the young prince smiled at the warm, southern breeze, feeling the way it ran through his hair and cooled him from the stuffy air still clinging to his clothes. He was glad he had escaped the attentive eye of his escort. There was only so much advising he could stand for one day, especially when the crystal blue water stretched out endlessly before him and the cry of gulls beckoned him to the deck.

"Well, that should give me a few hours of peace and quiet," he mused to himself as he closed the door behind him, remembering how the old man had fallen asleep right at the table, his tea cup still clutched in his hand.

As an afterthought, he thought himself generous when he draped a blanket over him, to keep out the coming night, then shook off his kind-heartedness as he looked out over the ship. It was littered with deckhands, and a few scattered passengers. Next to the cabin door, the cell was locked tight with a young thief sitting pathetically inside. The prince smiled smugly.

"Try not to get caught next time," he advised as he fixed his collar, then stretched as he walked out over the deck, his boots thundering heavily across the wood.

It was nice to be away from home. There was always excitement at visiting a foreign land as an official of his kingdom, be it for the exotic food or interesting people. He had seen things out there that ignited a bit of wanderlust within him, and he longed to find his place in that world. When his duties were fulfilled, he would have to return home, but he was not dreading that idea as much as he had in the past. There was just as much interest in returning home and reaping the rewards of his duties, but it was not the pride in his kingdom that drove him to return.

There was something else entirely to his plans, and they involved a great deal of patience and a lot of maneuvering.

Weaving through the maze of workers, he headed towards the bow of the ship, hoping it would be less crowded. He wondered if he would see land in the distance, just to imagine that it would be somewhere other than the land he had just left.

"Oh?" the young prince sighed, stopping as he found another person at the front of the ship leaning against the railing and watching the horizon as well. He appeared to be about the same age, though his clothes were vastly different. His hair was long and dark, and was tousled in the sea breeze. His lips were pursed in thought.

At first, the young prince thought of finding somewhere else to go, but a light shrug overtook him as he continued forward.

There was no reason to change his plans for anyone.

"Nice sunset," he said, stepping up to the rail and looking over at the other young man. He had the strangest-colored eyes, pale and clear, and they were set forward with an unusual force that struck the young prince.

"Yes," the other replied without even looking.

Intrigued by the lick of his accent and finding the chilly response amusing, the young prince shrugged it off and looked ahead as well, finding the breeze refreshing. It was a good idea to come after all, even if he didn't have friendliest companion. Stretching his arms above his head, the let the tension of the mood bleed away and resolved to make the best of it.

"So! What takes you into the Southern Seas, friend?" he asked, trying to strike up conversation once more.

The other young man was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. "One place is as good as another."

"An adventurer, huh? Out to see new worlds and such? You travel pretty light, though," the prince remarked, looking over his appearance and its apparent lack of supplies, or at least the kind no smart traveler would leave alone on a crowded ship. His eyes lingered on the single, ivory-handled dagger at his belt, and he found it to be beautiful and simple.

"A man does not need much to live," he answered, shortly once more.

"And a poet as well. You've quite the repertoire, friend, though you're a little light on conversation," noted the prince, taking another long glance over his temporary companion and finding that there was something about him that he liked - something that reminded him of himself.

That semblance made him warm up to the cold fellow.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles," he stated, extending his hand out.

Glancing down at the hand, the other then slowly raised his eyes back to him, as if trying to determine his intent. It wasn't every day that a prince so forcefully struck a conversation across the stone. "Yasha of Fria," he replied.

He didn't shake his hand.

Hans smirked at his response, but was feeling generous and lowered his hand to his side. He wouldn't hold his rudeness against him, for now. "Fria? I don't think I've ever heard of it. Is it far from here?" he asked, leaning back on the rail and giving this new acquaintance his full attention.

Yasha thought for a moment. "North. And East, perhaps."

"Oh, I sort of know the area. Is it close to Arendelle, by chance?" Hans asked, feeling his heart pick up just by the mention of that place. It was tied so intimately to his destiny that he had trouble thinking of anything else when it was all but mentioned before him.

Yasha sighed, finding this prince wasn't going to simply move on. Standing straight, he faced him as he also leaned against the rail. "It is a place I do not know well, but it is not far from Fria."

Hans smiled, his mind wandering a bit. "I hear it has the finest goods in the land. And the castle is particularly stunning," he replied, a strangely devious smile crossing his face.

Yasha was lost on his meaning, but shrugged it aside as small talk. He had little care for what interested this prince, except that at the moment, what interested him appeared to be Yasha.

"Perhaps I will visit it then, on your good advice," he said.

"I plan on making a trip there soon myself," Hans noted, looking out over the sea and trying to make out the horizon. His mind was reviewing and calculating, and his hands were moving at the very thought of what was to come. There was still much to do, and so many other steps to take before he would be ready to make that trip.

He soon became lost in thought.

Yasha had been watching him, now oddly interested in him as well. This was a normal prince from a normal kingdom, doing the normal things that royalty did. For some reason, that appealed to him.

"What is it like?" he suddenly asked, snaring Hans's attention.

Hans looked to him curiously, feeling slightly annoyed at being torn from his own little world. "Huh? What is what like?"

"Your kingdom. What is the life of a prince there?" Yasha repeated, watching him intently for an answer.

Hans sighed heavily. "Well, it's great, except for the fact there's twelve older ones just like me. I can't even begin to tell you some of the things I had to deal with growing up, and twelve older brothers puts you pretty far down on the food chain. Sometimes, it's like I don't even exist," he lamented, though looked out over the endless sea with determined eyes and great expectations. The days of being marginalized would soon come to an end, all by the efforts of his own hand.

"But, that will change soon."

"How?" Yasha replied, canting his head as he was fascinated by that expression.

Hans snapped out of his mood, then laughed and shrugged playfully. "Well now, if I went around telling that to every guy on a boat, I'd lose all of my best moves, now wouldn't I?" he replied, though he was taking a liking to this adventurer from Fria and felt like he could risk a little to gloat. It was unlikely he would ever meet him again anyhow. "But I'll give you a hint," he said, placing his hand on Yasha's shoulder and leaning in closely.

"Princesses."

Yasha's brow twisted. "Princesses...?"

"That's right. Princesses are the things that make dreams come true. Especially the beautiful ones," Hans explained, smiling for his new friend.

His new friend seemed lost. "I do not understand."

"Come on, who doesn't love a beautiful princess? I hear they fetch a high price here in the Southern Seas. Am I right?" Hans cheered, looking around to the deckhands and hoping for some kind of confirmation. They appeared to be men of dubious character, and the area's notoriety was well-known throughout the world.

A few looked, but none answered as they continued about their duties.

Hans dismissed their poor response and turned back to Yasha. "Forget them. Look, the most natural thing for a prince to do is to seek out a princess, right? But you have to find the right one. That, my friend, is the key. Finding the right one," he explained watching humorously as Yasha was still confused.

"And a princess will make you happy?" he asked.

"Me?" he replied, then laughed loudly and leaned in close once more, "I have my eyes set on a queen, but if that doesn't work out, a princess will do."

Yasha sighed, not looking convinced. "That sounds complicated."

"Oh, it is! You can't very well sneak into someone's castle and snatch up any princess lying around. It takes careful planning and a brilliant scheme to really _appreciate_ what a princess has to offer," Hans said darkly, searching Yasha's face for an indication that he was the type of person he guessed him to be.

Yasha snorted. "It does not sound like a noble pursuit," he replied, searching his eyes for the same things.

"The pursuit is not the point. It's the result that counts," Hans countered.

Yasha studied him for a moment, though he had little issue with that logic. As this point in his life, with his tragic destiny hanging over him, it was something he was inclined to believe in as well.

An impending, meaningless death had a way of sculpting one's values.

"And this result you seek is...?"

Hans slowly stood straight, looking out over the sea and imagining a towering castle out before him, with a golden throne and a golden crown. "A kingdom of my own," he said, raising his hands out to try and draw the splendor for him. It was what he was driving at, and the sum of all of his efforts. So much information gathering and political favors, just to be the one to attend that upcoming coronation and put his plan into motion.

It was too bad he couldn't tell his new friend all about it, but that was too much risk. He would have to be satisfied with vague hints and innuendos.

Yasha tried to look out over Hans's kingdom, but didn't see it. He saw something else - a kingdom under a mountain. There was fire and ash, and the looming shadow of a malevolent king that haunted his every thought. Their goals were very similar, yet also very far apart.

Yasha didn't seek a kingdom of his own.

He wanted to destroy one.

"I do not believe a princess would give me the result I seek," he pointed out, looking at Hans with a smirk.

His expression made Hans laugh, and he clapped him across the shoulder, raising a finger at him. "That's because you haven't found the right one yet."

As he was pondering that point, the deckhands on the ship were going around lighting the torches, as the setting sun had finally left a blanket of darkness over the ship. When the closest torch was set ablaze, the sudden flare seemed to disturb Yasha, making him stand stiffly and stare back at the raging torch. He didn't know why, but the flames seemed dimmer these days, and they seemed to light a desperate feeling within him.

_"__So little time left, and only a pathetic tinderbox fate to be seen."_

Hans noticed his reaction, and grinned. "What, a little fire scares you?" he asked playfully.

Yasha slowly looked to him, the flames reflected in his pale eyes and strange smirk played over the corner of his lips. The irony of the question was heavy.

"No," he replied, "it does not."

The two of them spent a great deal of the evening just chatting over the black waters of the sea. It was a strange friendship forged out of convenience and isolation, and neither of them had much expectation to ever meet again. They had much in common, even those buried things that didn't come out during polite conversation, yet weren't offended by the differences either. Hans didn't speak of the royal sisters of Arendelle, nor his carefully constructed plans for them. Yasha didn't speak of a twilight task, as of yet horded by a wicked King.

They both had their secrets, and were completely unaware at how those secrets would cross and collide down these fated pathways before them.

In the end, there was a clamor at the other end of the ship, with someone calling out loudly for the prince. Hans looked over his shoulder and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I guess it didn't last as long as I thought," he remarked, more to himself than to his new friend.

Yasha had glanced towards the noise, then to this interesting prince before him. Oddly, he had never once told him of his own royal lineage, yet Hans had treated him like they both bore a crown, which was strangely endearing. It wasn't often he was treated in such a way.

"The duties of a Prince?" he asked.

Hans laughed bitterly, turning to him as he shrugged. "Sometimes we accept things we don't want, in order to get the things we do," he replied, taking a long look at this intriguing person from Fria, before giving him a genuine smile and raising his hand out one more time between them. "Consider that my last piece of advice to you, Yasha of Fria." Hans had the feeling he wouldn't have the chance to see him again before they made port, and that was disappointing. It was strangely pleasant to chat with him.

Yasha looked to his hand once more. Their time had seemed brief, and he honestly still didn't know anything about him, other than that Yasha looked at him with a strange sense of longing. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be friends with Hans, or simply be Hans. Slowly but strongly, he reached out and took his hand, feeling a bit of sadness at losing this fledgling friendship so early. Yet, he knew this was how things had to be.

In the cold reality of the moment, he accepted that they lived in different worlds, and they both had their own destinies to fulfill.

"I hope you find the kingdom you seek, prince of the Southern Isles," he replied.

The sounds of more yelling and his name being screamed over the ship made Hans wince and let go of Yasha's hand, then smile sheepishly as he turned to leave. "May we meet again someday," he replied, winking, "Once we've both found our princesses, of course."

With that bit of merriment, Hans left Yasha alone at the bow of the ship, resolved to go smooth over the anger of his advisor and continue on his path to the coronation. An entire performance was waiting for him, though he didn't want to forget this meeting. He made it a point to remember to visit Fria after his plan had come to fruition, and visit this nighttime friend he had found in the Southern Seas.

Walking forcefully forward, he planned to make it his first trip as the king of Arendelle.


	3. The Marigold Afternoon

****The Marigold Afternoon****

A cool afternoon breeze was blowing through the balcony doors of Elsa's bedchambers, casting a pleasant air through the room and accentuating the soft murmurs of voices inside. On a large, plush sofa in the corner, facing a large plated window that gazed to the fjord beyond, Elsa was sitting causally with her legs tucked up under her, her hands carefully handling the figure of Yasha as he lay with his head in her lap. Her blue eyes were watching him intently, her white teeth biting onto her red lip. It was as if everything that mattered would be decided by his reaction, and her heart was beating anxiously in her chest.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked.

His brow was furrowed, and his lips and mouth were moving slowly. His eyes were on the small chocolate between his fingers, noticing the smooth ridges from where his teeth chipped had away an accommodating bite. With the amount of attention she was giving it, he was making sure to fully appreciate how much this meant to her.

"It is sweet," he remarked.

She nodded in a dreamy haze and she looked to the plate of chocolates on the table next to the sofa. She already wanted to eat another one, though she was trying to show some restraint with him around.

"I know. Isn't chocolate the most wonderful thing?" she sighed.

He worked the bite around his mouth a bit more. "It is very sweet."

By now, she had caught on to his mood and smirked , noticing he hadn't even taken another bite. "Is that all you have to say about it?" she asked.

His eyes slowly moved up, noticing how she was unimpressed with his impression of the treat. "It is also brown," he noted.

The comment did little to appease her and she sighed, a little sad that he didn't share her love for it, though she resolved to see if she could change his mind over time. After all, they had all the time in the world.

"You're probably the only person in Arendelle that doesn't like chocolate, you know," she pointed out.

"Perhaps. I may also be the only one who has not been eating it since I was a child," he replied.

The reminder of his childhood made her frown and she didn't want the mood to be soured by thoughts of his tragic history. There was too much sadness in those reflections, and she wanted to enjoy these quiet moments with him without the shadows of the past.

"Fine, then let me have it," she demanded.

Impishly, she opened her mouth and closed her eyes, waiting for him to deliver the rest of the treat to her waiting tongue. His smirk grew at her childish response, though he was taken by how attractive she was in the midst of it. Quietly, he slipped it into her mouth, watching her red lips close around his fingertip to suckle the last bits of melted chocolate that remained. After such a delicate act, her blue eyes fluttered open to him and she smiled, with the slightest blush on her cheeks.

"I will admit that I do not hate chocolate, however," he remarked.

Her eyes sparkled. These halcyon days with him were more than she could have ever imagined, especially in light of the path they had walked to get there. With how tumultuous their journey had been, these quiet moments alone with her fingers playfully twirling his dark hair seemed like an adequate reward for the trials they had attended. Now that they had no more trials and could simply enjoy their hushed affair, she wanted to spend as much time like this as possible, though she was disappointed with how her court had welcomed him.

As she had him in her arms, that was a problem for another day.

Yasha settled once more, laying his hands carelessly across his chest, his eyes closed and relaxed. Sitting in her bedchambers, resting in her lap and feeling the intoxicating touch of her touch was such a stark contrast to his life before that a part of him suspected that it might all be a dream. Sometimes he imagined he would awaken in the dank corner of his grotto, finding dripping stone and only pale light filling the world around him. There were nights when he was torn from his sleep, covered in cold sweat and remembering the darkness of his life before she was a part of it. The sensation of being so lost was frightening. He would then feel her at his back, reminding him that the darkness was the dream and her touch was the reality.

Elsa watched his relaxed face, her hands reveling in their dominance of him. "Are you happy here, Yasha?" she suddenly asked, brushing aside some dark hair from his face.

"Why do you ask me questions of which you already know the answer?" he answered.

The response caused her to laugh lightly. She realized he used that answer quite often, and she loved it for its lyrical tone. "Maybe I just like to hear the sound of your voice," she mused.

"Perhaps you would like me to recite a sonnet, or an epic poem then?" he suggested, though his voice was heavy with sarcasm.

In the time she had really gotten to know him, she had found such strange disparity within him. He was a prince that had never worn a crown. He had lived like a pauper for nearly his entire life, yet carried himself regally and commanded the air around him. He had never been formally tutored in art or music, yet could coax such powerful melodies from his bamboo flute that it often brought tears to her eyes. He was a man of contradiction, but that was just one of the reason she had grown to love him, even when he was a little too harsh on himself for the lack of formal manners.

"You could read a recipe for potato soup and I'd hang on every word," she sang sweetly.

He slowly opened his eyes. He didn't quite understand how she could so easily look past his deficiencies, ones that were often spoken about by others in her court when they thought no one could hear. While she and Anna had both been so quick to accept him in their world, he found that many others in the castle didn't share those sentiments, especially considering his efforts to kidnap the princess and the details that came to light in the destruction of his kingdom. It was as if he lived in two worlds, one where he was a shadow in the halls of Arendelle, catching whispers and narrowed glances as he passed by, and the other a dream-like state where he could banter with Anna in the gardens of the castle or lie tangled in the arms of the Snow Queen, completely content and unsettlingly happy.

Without a word about the former world, he resolved to keep Elsa only in the latter.

"You will need four potatoes, a cup of fresh cream…" he began.

Elsa laughed. She didn't understand why the simplest of things about him captured her, but she realized that even when they had been joking about it, she really could have just listened to him name an insignificant list of ingredients, just because she wanted to be in his world. It didn't matter how.

"Marigolds," she suddenly said after the humor had settled, though it brought a smirk across his face.

"I have never heard of such a recipe," he noted.

She laughed again, then shook her head. "Not that. I mean that whenever I look at you, and I try to imagine what kind flower you'd be, I can only think of one," she explained.

"Marigolds."

The abstract subject twisted his brow, wondering where it was coming from. He felt a bit guilty as he wondered if this was common recreation for the royals of Arendelle, to guess what kind of flowers best suited people, and that it was just another thing he didn't understand about royal life, but he did see how interested she was in it and the way it made her eyes glimmer.

"Why marigolds?" he asked.

She thought a moment, stroking her fingers through his hair. "Because they're colorful and beautiful, and because they have layers, just like you," she explained, tilting her head as she spoke and caressing him just like she would a delicate flower.

"And because whenever I see them, they make me happy."

The last part was accompanied by a slight blush on her face, though she continued to look at him strongly and demand that he understand. Truthfully, she had been thinking about this a lot lately, ever since she had seen a vase full of the flowers and the way the colors of orange, yellow and red seemed to blend and merge into what looked just like the blossom of fire. It was just one more thing that did so, though there was no shortage of those lately. Everything made her think of him, but the flowers were something tangible, and romantic to consider. She had invested a lot into the idea, hoping this little game would be yet another way she could enjoy their time together.

"I see," he replied stiffly, breaking the mood that she had built for them.

She could see the confusion in his face and realized that this was the sort of thing he wasn't good at. It was strange how he was so skilled at certain aspects of their romance, yet seemed so lost about others. "What about me? What kind of flower am I?" she asked, dismissing his heavy expression and hoping to lighten him up. Truthfully, she would accept anything he offered, even if it wasn't clever or romantic. She expected him to say 'rose' or 'lily' just to appease her, and that would have been enough. It was just a simple game, just to get him to talk to her.

He seemed disturbed and sat silently for a while.

"I will have to give it some thought," he finally replied, looking at the ceiling with a quiet expression.

His sour response made her purse her lips together, feeling disappointed that he couldn't play such a lighthearted game. There were often reminders of how much different they were, and she tried to think of something to say to rebuild the atmosphere, but nothing came to mind, and she felt just as frustrated in not being able to coax him into this part of her world.

Sometimes, they were too different for their connection to grow.

"Oh, okay," she sighed, resting her hands as she felt the mood seep out of her chambers.

Over the next several days, Elsa didn't see much of Yasha. He didn't come to her balcony at night, and when she saw him in the castle during the day he would formally address her and leave, something that was making her panic inside. Even asking Anna gave didn't help, as her sister hadn't seen much of him either. Sometimes he wasn't seen for the whole of the day, with one really sure what he was doing.

In truth, his distant attitude was really beginning to concern her.

After several more days of this unsettling pace, Elsa was feeling distraught and exhausted, both from her duties but also because of the absence in her life. Another day had passed without being able to see him, and she entered into her chambers with a heavy sigh. Her eyes were cast to the floor as she leaned back against the closed door, not even responding as the guard wished her a good night.

There would be no good night as long as she couldn't meet him.

Silence filled the air, even as she secretly was hoping to hear the soft notes of his flute on her balcony. Her hope drew her eyes there, yet found nothing. "What happened to you, Yasha?" she whispered to the empty room, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around herself for a moment. As they often had since he disappeared, scolding thoughts filled her mind, whispering that she had driven him away somehow, that her games were insensitive to the troubles she knew he was having with adjusting to life in Arendelle. If they were true and she was the reason for him to grow so distant, there would be no measure of forgiveness in her heart, and she wondered just how she could come to terms with that terrible fact. If only she could talk to him, she would apologize for anything she might have said to make him act this way.

At the moment, she would do anything to bring him back.

The silence of the room was suddenly broken by a strange sound, and she instantly became aware of it. Her eyes rose to the source of the sound and found something sitting on her bed, swaying in the breeze from her open window and rasping against the quiet of the night.

Her heart leaping, she quickly ran over and found a large bundle of paper folded up carefully and waving to her in the wind. There were no marks. There was no ribbon. There were no indications of who it was from, but she instantly knew the answer and could barely contain her excitement as she seized it and eagerly began to unwrap it.

As she unfolded a large, careful fold, a potent, weedy smell hit her and she saw the glimpse of something dark blue and purple. Inside the bundle was a carefully placed sprig of flowers, though she quickly came realize that even though this was Yasha's answer, it wasn't at all what she had expected, or hoped for.

"Foxglove?" she whispered.

The bell-shaped flowers weren't her favorite, and were the last thing she expected. The flowers themselves gave off no considerable fragrance and they didn't capture the heart as a rose would. The entire plant was actually poisonous to anyone careless enough to ingest it. There was nothing about them that referenced any romantic trait, and that was what kept her brow furrowed in disappointment.

In every conceivable manner, it was a terrible answer, and she couldn't even begin to grasp his meaning as she unfolded the last crease of the paper.

Elsa gasped. Her shaky fingers rose up to her lips and she let out a choking breath, feeling her angry mood dissipate instantly. In spite of the way she had been tormented over the last few days by his bizarre behavior, she suddenly came to realize what he had been doing. He had obviously spent every moment of his time simply trying to answer her playful question, taking something that was supposed to be a game and turning it into an epic quest. For even something as trivial as this game of hers, he had been trying to make sure his answer reflected the exact meaning in his heart. The fact that he had taken it so seriously and caused her so much concern made her want to punish him the next time she saw him, but the answer itself and the lengths he would go to just to respond to her feelings made her want to kiss him instead, for the simple sentence written carefully on the last fold of paper.

__In the meadows around Arendelle, Foxglove can always be found together with Marigolds.__


	4. Kai and Gerda

**Kai and Gerda**

In a small room on the ground floor of Arendelle castle, two children sat quietly at two small desks, their heads lowered and their hands diligently working the quills over the papers that were before them. At the front of the room was a large woman. She had been talking for nearly an hour about the finer points of calligraphy and how everything about a person could be revealed simply by their handwriting. Her passions were obvious, though the two children weren't nearly as impassioned by her lecture, for they simply wanted to be anywhere else and doing anything else, as long as it was fun.

Sitting forward in the room and running his fingers through his dark hair, the first of the children was put into a place of prominence, if only because he was the crowned-prince of Arendelle. There were many expectations upon him, even if he were still just a boy. Those expectations made him focus on the task ahead of him and the resolve could be seen in his eyes, which were mismatched in color, one being bright blue and the other a paler sort of grayish-blue.

The devotion to his studies kept his brow furrowed and his attention tight, until something smacked him in the back of the head, making him wince and slowly reach back. Upon finding a slobbery wad of paper still stuck in his hair, the young prince let slip a sigh of disgust and looked back to the other child in the room, his eyes narrowing fiercely.

She was ignoring him, drawing doodles on her paper and portraying total innocence at the accusation in his eyes. Her deep blue eyes were heroically stuck to her paper, which had several corners torn away, though she would never let on that she was the culprit, despite being the only other child in the room.

The young prince glared at her for a bit, dropping the wad to the floor and trying to draw out her guilt with his eyes, but as she continued to ignore him and the teacher continued her lesson, he slowly turned back and tried to regain his lost focus.

Silence filled the spaces between the teacher's lecture and the studies continued, until once more the young prince felt another wad smack into the back of his head, though this time it made him whirl quickly and glare once more at the child behind him.

"Gerda!" he said in a sort of muffled half-yell, half-whisper.

This time, the young girl was holding her notched paper up in front of her as if she were reading a royal decree, the top of her strawberry-blonde hair and the two straggly pigtails at the sides the only thing he could see until she dropped it away to look at him, smiling impishly as she pledged her innocence.

"It wasn't me," she chirped.

"Princess Gerda," the teacher suddenly barked, making the both of them snap to attention and look at the robust woman that had finally been distracted from her passions. "No talking during the lesson. Please behave yourself."

"Yes, ma'am," Gerda replied, feigning a look of seriousness on her face that instantly disappeared as soon as the woman turned back around. She then let her eyes shift back to the stuffy prince that was sitting in front of her. The practice of putting him in front irked her, especially since they were both part of the royal family and she was actually older than he was, but she had made the best of it by using every lesson to mess with him, something that brought her ridiculous amounts of joy. Her joy was evident as she once more tore a piece of paper away and slipped it into her mouth, not liking the bitter taste of the parchment but willing to suffer a little for her ammunition.

In a manner not proper for a princess of Arendelle, she spit the gooey wad into her hand and focused her aim onto his head again, closing one eye like an archer set upon a target, then let the wad fly once more, where the muddy sound of it recoiled off his head and made her snort out laughing once more, then tuck her head down to try and muffle the sounds.

Staring forward angrily, the young prince didn't even reach back for the wad this time, but felt it slowly fall free of his hair in its own time. The lecture was completely lost and the letters on his page were starting to show jagged edges. Now he could hear her snickering, something that fueled his anger, though as he shot her a glance over his shoulder and saw her enjoying the game, a devilish smile crossed over his face and he slowly set his quill down, tucking his hands into his lap.

As he cupped his hands against one another, a subtle blue glow filled them as swirls of ancient magic slipped between his fingers, coming together as frozen crystals that coalesced into a perfectly round ball of snow, something that now rested in his hands without the slightest bit of chill for him.

For the son of the Snow Queen Elsa, a snowball was child's play.

Gerda continued to chortle until a snowball smacked her right in the face, making her instantly freeze and blink wildly at the sensation of icy water running down her skin. Her desk was covered in small piles of slushy snow and her mouth was hanging slightly open. She wondered why she hadn't seen that coming.

The prince smirked back at her, flicking his hands through the air innocently.

"It wasn't me," he echoed.

"Prince Kai!" yelled the teacher once more, which made him spin in his chair to meet her angry gaze. She was watching the princess wipe the slush from her face and winced at the depth of her charge, for she had never before been asked to teach a child that could use magic, and seeing it still made her heart beat quicker.

Secretly, the magic was terrifying for her.

"What was the first rule of the classroom, young prince?" she demanded.

"No magic in the classroom," he recited tonally, drooping in his chair as he thought about how boring of a rule that was. It seemed these days that everyone was trying to put a leash on his growing magic, all except for the girl that sat behind him. Gerda was the only one that still marveled at his powers, something that continued to tie them together tightly, though he could think of a million better things to do than sit in that classroom and listen to the woman drone on about tittles and ampersands.

"_Anything would be better than this."_

As the teacher once more tried to go back to her lesson, the room settled into monotony and Kai tried to focus again, though now was wholly distracted by the idea of doing something else, so much that he couldn't even reflect about his well-placed revenge on his cousin Gerda.

"Hey Kai," came a hissing whisper and it drew his attention back once more, where Gerda had completely shaken off his snowball and was gesturing out towards the darkening sky and the sounds that were coming from the town beyond.

Following her eyes, he looked towards the dying sun and listened to the sounds as well, remembering that tonight was a gathering that only adults were invited to and the reason they were having a late lesson in the first place. He knew that once they finished, they'd be ushered off to bed while the town was alive with laughter and fun.

Looking back to her, he could already tell what she was proposing and the corner of his lips lifted in reaction to the grand scheme she was outlining with her hands.

"Now that we've gone over the importance of the wrist, I want the two of you to write the first letter of your names using proper form. Elbows out. Wrists fluid. Back straight," the teacher continued, focused intently on her own form as she carved a perfectly formed letter on the large parchment that was tacked to the board before her. She imagined the two of them writing just as beautifully as she was, though she was curious why she hadn't heard anything from them in some time. In truth, she had been so engrossed in her form that she didn't remember the last time she looked back, so she decided to check on them and see their work.

"Now then, Prince Kai, would you please show me your finely-sculpted K?" she suggested as she turned, though what she found wasn't the two children of the royal family, but two rapidly melting snowmen on their chairs, something that made her eyes widen and her mouth drop open.

As the head of the snowman in Gerda's chair slowly slid off and fell to the floor in a slushy mess, the teacher let out a frantic scream that echoed throughout the castle.

* * *

"You don't even know where we're going," Kai complained as he followed Gerda, pulling on his coat not because the evening air was starting to chill, but because it was expected of him to be well-dressed outside of the castle.

With the blood of his mother in his veins, the cold never bothered him.

"Yes, I do," Gerda replied, and barely even bothered with the shawl she had grabbed as they left. After making sure that her two pigtails were as straight as she could get them and checking that none of the Royal Guard were following, she gave her cousin a glance, showing her annoyance at the way he still worried about everything. "Quit being so stiff. The voices are coming from the town square, so that's obviously where we're going."

Kai pursed his lips at the idea that he was stiff, though he slowly nodded, deferring to her experience at being older, as he usually did. "Okay. But what if our parents are there?" he asked, showing how concerned he was at being caught skipping out on their lessons and being out after dark.

He was particularly worried about what his father would do to him.

Gerda's pace stalled at the suggestion and she showed the same concerns, though she quickly waved off his suggestion as she continued to lead them forward. "Relax. We just have to make sure we don't get caught. We'll go see this hearty party, or whatever it is, then sneak back into the castle before anyone notices we were gone. It's the perfect plan," she said proudly, creeping around the corner of a building and starting to see the outlines of people in the town. The lamps weren't lit as they usual and with the sun set, it was starting to get harder to navigate the roads.

Soon enough the two of them slithered through an alleyway and found a small cranny to peek out of, hidden from the many adults that lingered in the square and able to finally see why all of the kids had to go to bed early on that early spring evening. They watched the people mingling and talking, yet could see nothing that set the night apart, aside from the inherent darkness and the look of anticipation on everyone's faces.

"Oh no," Kai suddenly said and ducked.

"What?" she asked.

His mismatched eyes were luminescent in the dim light and they stared forward through the dark, locked on two figures that were standing before all the rest. Gerda's eyes followed and she saw why he had reacted in the way he did, though her reaction was far less grave and she simply stated in awe as she always did, sharing the impression that most people had when they laid eyes on the two people that stood apart from the rest.

"It's the king and the queen," she said as she struggled to listen to what they were saying.

"Very well. It appears all have come that would come, and night is quickly falling around us," King Yasha said to the crowds, looking over the many familiar faces and the expectations in their eyes. A thoughtful glance was given to the radiant queen at his side and as she gave him a warm smile back, he lifted his hands into the air to both gather everyone's attention, but also to begin the show that everyone had been waiting for. "Everyone stand ready and we will begin the evening."

"For lovers with stars in their eyes, we require a little heat, and a little light."

With everyone watching, the tips of his hands began to glow in an orange light and he began to churn the air with his hands, making the light grow and swirl until it finally ignited into two points of raging fire, though they lingered quietly before him in spite of their violent nature, waiting for his command. Seeing the king's magic always made murmurs rumble through the crowd and Yasha orchestrated it deftly before him, a pale orange glow in his eyes.

The two orbs of fire suddenly spiraled into the air above him, then darted in opposite directions, careening through the night air until they crashed into two large piles of wood at the ends of the square, igniting them into raging pyres of light and heat. People were startled and others cheered in delight, though the orbs soon burst out from the pyres as countless others, each spot of light moving to find the dead lamps all around the square and lighting them until the heart of the town was aglow, revealing the smiles of all to the night as they cheered on their king and his magic.

With a roguish smile on his face, he gave his queen a short glance before playing his fingers through the air, making the countless points of light come flying back towards the people and dance through the sky like a million fireflies, then pool together between the two pyres until they became one large ball of fire, which then bulged and groaned until it became the shape of a monstrous fire dragon, so fearsome and real that some of the people in the square recoiled from the beast. However, with his domination of flame, the king simply turned his hands up, making it rear its head up and send a massive pillar of fire upwards into the night.

The display filled the starry sky with light and even those that had been afraid began to cheer, finding the fire dragon was no beast, but a guardian over the felicity of their kingdom.

"Show off," Queen Elsa remarked.

With Yasha merely smirking back, she elegantly stepped forward, drawing the attention of the people not because of her ferocity, but because of her grace. She was eager to show them, and her king, that he wasn't the only one adept with magic.

"But lovers need more than heat and light. They also need a reason to stand close to one another," she crooned.

With a subtle turquoise glow in her eyes, she flicked a single hand out at the square and swirls of frozen magic burst forward from her, pulling behind them beautiful tails of snow and ice, and snaking all around the townspeople. The magic began to freeze the area around the bonfires, turning it into a glass-like ice rink, while turning the flowing fountains into beautiful sculptures of ice. It was a sight the people of the kingdom were often acquainted with, but a glimmer in her eye showed that she wasn't quite done, especially as she returned the short glance to the onlooking king.

To everyone's surprise, the icy magic suddenly swirled up the body of the dragon, turning fire to ice until the entire beast was frozen in the air, spewing out a beautifully ceramic plume of ice into the sky. Then, the ice cracked and shattered the dragon, sending countless snowflakes into the sky, which then fell down on the square, cooling the air and making good on Elsa's promise to give people a reason to be close to one another.

It was Yasha that now looked charmed and he casually wiped a few snowflakes from his shoulder, not lamenting the loss of his dragon for a moment.

"And who is the show off?" he remarked.

Elsa let him see the grin on her face, then regained her royal visage and raised her hands out to the kingdom, calling in a loud voice.

"Let the Night of Hearts begin!"

Within the crowd, Anna had been enjoying the show, though quickly turned her attention to the large man that stood at her side, giving him an excited smile. "So, Mr. Prince, what do you want to do first, since you haven't spent an evening alone with your wife in a long, long time? Ice skating? Tandem apple bobbing?" she suggested, wanting to try them all but also not beyond appreciating the night for what it really was, as her voice became low and her fingers danced across his sleeve. "Something a little more out of the firelight?"

It took a moment for Kristoff to catch what she was trying to say, though he suddenly started laughing nervously, trying to keep up with her as he always seemed to be. "Oh, well how about we just sit here and enjoy the night air for a while?" he suggested, figuring that she was always complaining that they never just sat and talked, and that this would be the perfect chance. He thought it was a good idea, though the annoyance that appeared on her face told him otherwise.

"My sister made a celebration completely dedicated to letting people in love spend time together, and you want to sit around and do nothing?" she replied, stabbing her hands onto her hips.

The response made him marvel that even after years of being together, he still had no idea what she was thinking sometimes.

Idly, he wondered if all marriages were like that.

"Well, what I meant was…you know, we could always, maybe…uhm…" he stuttered, trying to quickly salvage the situation and seeing an opportunity when one of the merchants was passing by with an arm full of little baskets of chocolates, ones that he had been giving out to help the mood of the evening. Kristoff nearly toppled over when he stretched out and grabbed one, then turned back to Anna with a side grin on his face, presenting them like it had been part of the plan all along.

"Look, I got you chocolates!"

Anna watched the entire routine with a smirk, though she could appreciate that he was trying. Watching him do his dance was as entertaining as the idea of spending an entire romantic evening alone, but she decided to give him a break and casually reached out to take one of the chocolates from the basket, popping it into her mouth and enjoying every sweet bite.

"Nice save, reindeer boy," she remarked around the treat.

On the other side of the square, there was more fire and ice than anywhere else, if only because two magical beings had been lingering against the backdrop of the townspeople, though their existence was just as normal to the people as a giant fire dragon being turned to icy dust right before their eyes. "Ahh, bonfires surrounded by ice rinks. Snowflakes mixing with sparks. The sounds of love are in the air. It's a perfect night for us, my little fire angel. A perfect night for love's first kiss," the snowman Olaf said with a happy sigh, clutching his twigs together as he gave the petite fire sprite next to him a loving glance.

Sid seemed annoyed by his continued defiance of reality, but after years of dealing with his unrelenting advances, it had simply become part of her daily routine. "Look, the only reason I agreed to hang around with you was because the snow hussy swore to me she'd turn me into a snow sprite if I came anywhere near Yasha tonight. Besides, you do realize that if you stick those stupid lips of yours anywhere near me, your stupid face will fall right off your stupid head, right?" she pointed out.

"Anything is worth the chance to embrace our undying love, my sweet," he replied, fluttering his eyes at her and wondering just how close he could get before he did start to melt, and thinking at how happy he would be for those few liquefying moments.

Sid put her fiery hand to her head, utterly amazed that he would never change and that she would possibly be trying to explain to him the folly of a snowman in love with a fire sprite until the end of time.

"Ugh, you're an idiot," she sighed sourly.

At the sights before her, Gerda was aghast. They had never dared to sneak out and see why this one night of the year was restricted from the children of the kingdom and why so many people talked about it for weeks afterward. Now that they had stumbled upon its secrets, she was utterly shocked at how unfair it was for the kids to be left out. "So wait, they make all of the kids go to bed early so they can have a huge party? What a gyp! This is the biggest crime of our time! A secret cult!" she ranted, leaning back into the alleyway and looking for her cousin to share in her outrage.

Upon finding he had wandered out of the other side of the alley, she tilted her head as she looked after him.

"Hey Kai?" she called before following.

"Did you see that? My dad's fire was awesome," he said whimsically, thinking about how the king commanded something so dangerous, but which such ease. A dragon was the quickest way to capture the imagination of a boy and he was already trying to figure out how to mimic the feat, looking at his curling fingers with lofty expectations.

"Yeah, and then Aunt Elsy totally froze it solid. I guess one day you'll be able to do both, right? Like braaaaah, then skooooosh," she said as she followed him out, mimicking the sounds and movements with her hands, trying to imagine what it would be like to use magic like they did. A part of her had always been a little sad that her mom didn't have the same magic as the queen, so it couldn't be passed down to her like it was to Kai, but it did make her appreciate how special he was and that being in his family had always been a point of fierce pride for her.

As long as she was close to the one who could wield the ancient magic, she was happy enough about it.

Seeing how the display had impressed her, he suddenly felt a wave of heat inside, feeling like he wanted to be the reason that she gushed over. He suddenly felt like he had to compete with his famous parents and win. "I could do it today, if I wanted. You saw how easily they did it. I can do it twice that easy. Twice that big," he boasted.

She smirked. "Uh huh. I've seen you try," she replied, remembering every time he had tried to copy his parents and the way it had never worked right.

"Your dad makes huge fire dragons. You make sparky little lizards."

"Fine! You want a fire dragon?" he snapped back, feeling a redness in his face, then took a few steps back from her, to make sure the massive dragon he was about to summon would fit in the area he prepared. "I'll give you the biggest fire dragon you've ever seen. Just watch this."

Within the depths of Kai's mismatched eyes, rings of deep orange began to churn as he tapped into the other ancient magic that flowed through his veins, the one attuned to his father. Although he found controlling the fire harder than the ice, he felt it was cooler for a boy to throw fire, so he had always tried to master it.

After a moment, his hands erupted into a small flame, swirling benignly at his skin and not burning it in the slightest. Just the sight of it made Gerda swoon, but he had promised her a massive fire dragon, so that was what he began to envision as he tried to force more of his magic into his hands, something that caused the fire to thrash and begin to grow. In truth, Kai had no idea how to make a fire dragon. He imagined it would just come to him as he kept the vision of his father's in his mind, but the thing that grew out of his fire was longer, like a serpent. Despite the difference, he was pleased that he had successfully drawn out something that looked like a dragon and the creature let out a high-pitched shriek, then lurched from his hand and started to circle in the air above them.

Kai panted from the effort, but Gerda was cheering loudly for the creature. "That's great, Kai! You really did it!" she called, watching the way the long fire snake coiled and danced before her, then suddenly circled right above her, as if draw by her cheers. The creature hissed loudly and started moving more erratically, something that started to worry her.

"Kai? Uhm, Kai?" she said as she took a step back and looked to him, finding that he was even more out of breath and staring at the creature frantically.

"I can't control it!" he cried, trying to move his hand in every direction and dominate it like his father did, but finding his connection to it slipping away. Instead of reigning in the creature, he lifted his other hand and felt the more natural flow of ice at his hand, throwing a blast of icy magic at the creature to try and freeze it as his mother had, but the blast sailed past the moving creature, leaving him to panic even more. He then began throwing more frigid blasts into the air, all in the hope of putting an end to the beast he had created, yet none hit and the snake continued to thrash about in the air.

Nothing he did seemed to stop it, and he was feeling utterly helpless against the magic that he couldn't control.

By now some of the people in the square had caught onto the alternate light show and had wandered to see what was going on. They saw the two children being stalked by this magic creature, then heard the shrill cry of Gerda as the snake spiraled through the air at her and began to thrash at her head.

"Eeeeeek!"

"Gerdy!" cried Anna, who had come to see what was happening and found her own daughter being assaulted by a mystical fire creature. It was a harrowing sight and she could barely grasp the sense of panic at seeing her daughter being covered in flames. She sprinted forward to save her when the fire snake was suddenly overcome with a skin of frost, making it shriek out loudly and stretch into the air before bursting into a shower of snowflakes, ones that fluttered harmlessly to the ground around the growing crowd of spectators.

"What's going on here?" Elsa said after dispatching the snake, lowering her hand down and her glowing eyes falling onto the trembling form of her son. "Kai? What are you doing here?"

Kai was terrified as he looked to his angry mother, but even more so by the sound that was beginning to fill the air over the hushed town, making his fearful eyes dart back to where Gerda had been assaulted by the beast. The wailing sound of the princess of Arendelle filled the air as Gerda was clutched tightly in Anna's arms. There was a sickening burnt smell in the air and everyone was trying to see what had become of her, yet her mother wouldn't let anyone near her, not even Kristoff as he came skidding to her side to find out if his daughter was okay.

"Gerdy," he whispered, then looked back to his mother Elsa, who was still waiting for an answer. The ferocity in her eyes made him panic even more, yet his eyes then shot around to try and find the only thing that scared him more than his angry mother. Just the idea of facing his father's wrath made him step backwards from the scene, hoping to turn and run from it, yet he was frozen in fear as he bumped into something behind him, something hot and looming.

Without wanting to look but having to anyway, Kai knew what awaited him, though it didn't prepare him for the sight of Yasha's fiercely glowing orange eyes as he looked down at him, showing that whatever expectation he had at being in trouble would pale in comparison, and that the only reason his kingly father wasn't already upon him was that they were the subject of many eyes.

Kai could barely contain his terror.

"Dad…"

* * *

"You know better than this, Kai! I have told you countless times! These powers are not to be treated as you would a toy. I will not have you burning down the castle on a childish whim!"

Yasha was raging hot, pacing in front of his son and trying his best to not let his voice reach outside of the walls of the royal bedchamber. It wasn't how he envisioned spending the evening, and when his eyes moved to the quiet figure that stood in the middle of the room, flashes of orange still flared up in them, showing that while he usually kept the FireHeart under control, dealing with the antics of his son was one arena where he never felt completely in control. For a man who was looked upon to rule over a kingdom, the idea of that lapse in control was something that felt utterly foreign to him, especially when it was his own blood that was at the center of it.

Elsa had been sitting in the chair adjacent to them, watching her son cower and her husband rage. While she was also angry at the situation, she knew she had to play the part of mediator, for Yasha's temper was sometimes too hot for the room and required her cooler touch to temper it.

"Ahem," she interjected, clearing her throat in order to control some of his heat. Her voice made Yasha hesitate a moment, but he then continued pacing while relenting on his scolding tone. She slowly moved her eyes to their son, who hadn't said anything since returning to the castle. "What your father is trying to say is that you have be more cautious with your magic, Kai. I know it seems like fun, but you can really hurt somebody if you're not careful," she continued, leaning forward and wrapping her hands around his, tilting her head down so she could see his face, with was inflamed and still full of fear. She could tell he felt bad about making Gerda cry, and understood how much his cousin meant to him, but she still had to make him understand why they were constantly vigilant about how he used his magic. "Tonight, you burned a bit of Gerda's hair. It could have been much worse."

"But it wasn't my fault! And I was just about to…"

"What you were about to do was incinerate your cousin!" Yasha interrupted, like he had been waiting for the boy to speak so he could go after him once more. Kai froze once more and stood there, accepting his father's wrath as was expected. It didn't seem to temper his father's raging flames. "Is that what you want? Do you want to see the ones you love turned to ash before your eyes?"

"Yasha," Elsa warned, and the look in her eyes coupled with the way Kai trembled made the king withdraw once more, though he continued to pace, becoming quiet as he smoldered like a kiln.

Elsa slowly shifted her eyes back to Kai, and she squeezed his hand once more, to assure him that her reaction would be much cooler than his father's. "Kai, listen to me. We're trying to make you understand. Your father and I both had to learn to control our powers. We want you to learn from our mistakes, so you don't have to repeat them. The magic can seem like such a wonderful thing, but one slip of the hand can change your whole life," she cautioned, remembering all of the sadness of her own past and of Yasha's, using those memories as a way to help him deal with the life they had already lived. Right now, all Kai could do was tremble against his father's anger, but she wanted him to realize more than that. She wanted him to realize that he had something that neither of them ever had – two parents that had gone through the exact same thing.

"We're here to help you through this. You don't have to do it alone."

Hearing his mother's warm words, Kai slowly looked up to her with tears in the corners of his eyes, though felt instantly better at seeing the gentleness in her. Elsa's grace had always comforted him and helped him calm down, as he was able to accept that his queenly mother had powers that his kingly father could only dream of.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'll be more careful from now on. I promise," he said quietly.

Elsa smiled at the sweetness of his heart and leaned forward, putting her red lips against his forehead and kissing him lovingly. "That's a good boy," she whispered, then put her hands on his cheeks and framed his face for her, where she could take in every aspect of the miracle of her and Yasha's union. Just as she had been so unprepared for the many loves of her life, this was yet another one that surprised her, for she loved her son like she loved no other, in ways she never thought possible. While he was prone to getting into trouble, she knew he had a pure heart and that he struggled with many of the things that she had, stemming from the power that pulsed within him. Sometimes, she wondered if her husband would ever find the same enlightenment she had when it came to dealing with their child, though with the way he was still panting in anger, she felt the day he did was still a long ways away.

In her mind, Yasha had to learn to deal with Kai's power just as much as Kai did.

With Elsa and Kai finding their moment, Yasha scowled at their truce and faced them, running his hand across his mouth and letting a deep breath escape his lips. "For now, return to your room and think about what we have said. Tomorrow, you will apologize to both Gerda and your Aunt Anna," he ordered, looking at Elsa with as much annoyance as he felt for Kai, and trying not to feel betrayed by the way she always took his side.

"And I do not want to see any more magic for a while. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Kai replied quietly.

Watching him not even look his way, Yasha dropped his eyes to the floor and waved him off, feeling completely ill-equipped to deal with the team they created against him. "Go on then," he said, and didn't even watch as the boy quietly slipped out of the room and was ushered away by a waiting servant.

With their heavy door closed once more, Elsa sat back in her chair and focused her eyes on her husband, watching him smolder with anger and trying to figure out an easy way to cool him off. It was a routine they performed more often than she preferred, with the mischievous son angering the temperamental father and being defended by the fair mother. She marveled at how well they played their roles.

"Well, that went well," she remarked.

"You are far too soft on him," he snorted, starting to pace again.

"That's because you're not," she replied, leaning forward in the chair again and trying to appeal to him with her eyes, "He's just a boy, Yasha. You have to be patient with him."

"He is a boy with the capacity to turn the castle to cinders. A curse on whatever reason these powers passed on to him," he said, echoing the fact that he wished Kai had never been burdened with the powers they had, and that this wasn't the life he would have chosen for him.

Truthfully, he felt an overwhelming guilt at knowing this wouldn't be the last time Kai had to feel the consequences of possessing the ancient magic.

As Elsa continued to watch him quietly, he finally broke from his trail and looked to her, finding her expression striking and her silence oppressive. A deep sigh rose out of him. "Am I that much a tyrant to my own son that you look at me with those eyes?" he asked, his voice finally showing some of the gentleness that she knew was in his heart.

She was happy to see that part of him show, even if was a bit late to benefit their son. "You could go a little easier on him. I know you don't want him to live the same life you lived, but he's not you, and you aren't your father," she counseled, watching the way her words stirred him up again, though all by her design. There was no one but her that could mention Nazir without fierce retaliation, but that was just a testament to the power she had over him and the way she could be the heart he needed sometimes.

To comfort him, she rose from the chair and went to him, placing her hands into his to force him let go of the pointless pathway he had carved in the middle of their room. "He'll figure it out eventually, because he has us. And he has Anna, and Kristoff, and countless others looking out for him."

"And he has Gerdy."

The indignation at the reference to his father fell away to her overtures and Yasha suddenly felt her power, not to mention the fact that just thinking of the children together somehow made the anger bleed away from him. He knew how right she was about the cousins and that the bond they shared was yet another reason that Kai's life would always be different than his own. Even with the near-tragedy of the evening, he could only smile at the way they two of them could go nowhere without the other, and that trouble was often only steps behind.

"They do make a pair. I believe their tutor has not been seen since fleeing from the castle. If this keeps up, there will not be a single teacher in the kingdom that will be willing to instruct them," he mused.

Elsa smiled, feeling many of the same things. "Kai and Gerda. One of them with our powers and the other with my sister's heart. When I see them together, it reminds me how Anna and I were when we were younger. I don't know if that makes me worry more, or less," she admitted, then looked up to him and still saw the trouble in his eyes. There was also regret at how the evening had gone, with the Night of Hearts disturbed by the incident and the royal family returning to the castle to deal with the children. Knowing Gerda was fine and Kai was off to bed for the evening, Elsa set aside her mantle of mother and queen to embrace the other role she had intimately in her heart.

It was time to be the woman who loved her troubled husband.

Arching up on her toes, she suddenly kissed Yasha across the brow and watched his eyes settle on her, smiling one of her smiles that could cut through even his heaviest mood. "Try to relax, my sweet king. You'll turn your hair white with worry, and ruin your handsome looks," she warned as she mussed up his hair a bit with her fingers, then idly dropped her hands across his shoulders.

"Now, why don't I put your mind on other things..."

As the air within the royal bedchambers heated, there was quiet movement behind a thick metal grate at the top of the wall where hot air usually flowed in during the winter. A small face was framed behind it and a pair of eyes lingered on the room longer than intended, with a small voice then being muttered through the duct as the shadow began to scoot away.

"Ew, gross."

* * *

Kai had been sitting in his room in silence, wilting like a flower that was receiving too much moonlight and not enough sun. He was tormented by the look of fury in his father's eyes, but also by the way fire from his own hands had crept so close to Gerda and the bitter smell of her hair as it singed. When he thought back on how terrifying it was to see his magic rage out of control, a shiver ran through him, for he couldn't imagine ever hurting her, and he was getting angry at himself for coming that close.

He was also getting angry at his father, for he couldn't understand why he could control his magic so completely, yet would not spare a single moment to teach him how to do the same.

While the prince was sulking moodily, there were sounds of light grunting outside of his window, where a small shadow had been creeping along the ledge, holding vines and jagged stones to try and reach him, which she finally did as she arched up on her toes and peeked through the window, seeing him sitting all alone. A smile crossed Gerda's face, and she was completely unconcerned by the precariousness of her position.

"Kai! Hey, Kai!" she called through the small gaps between glass and stone.

Kai lifted his head at the sound of his cousin's voice, though he had no idea where it was coming from. "Gerda? Where are…?" he asked, looking to the door first, though not seeing any shadows at the light underneath. The only other way into the room was the window, but he could dismiss that from his mind. _"Only an idiot would try to come in that way," _he thought but turned anyway, finding the top of Gerda's head showing outside the glass and her eyes brightening at seeing him look at her.

"Hi!" she cheered, though almost lost her balance as she waved. "Uhm, a little help?"

Kai jumped up and ran to the window, unlocking it and pushing open. Just looking down from his window made his heart race and he desperately grabbed her arm, as if he were the only thing keeping her from falling down on the slanted roofs and tumbling into the gardens below. "What are you doing here?! Do you know what would happen if you fell?" he chastised her loudly, trying to pull her over the sill with all of his strength.

Gerda rolled her eyes at his dramatics, thinking at how she had been in a lot scarier places when she went climbing with her dad. "Pffft, don't be such a stick in the mud. Ooof!" she grunted as he finally wrenched her in and made her tumble to the floor of his room. Kai had stumbled back and fallen to the floor, breathing heavily and trying to imagine how any girl would be so calm at scaling the side of the castle just to reach his room.

Rubbing her knee, which was red under her dress from the abrasion of the stone walls, she acted as if doing such things was completely normal, even for a princess. "Besides, my mom told me that your dad used to sneak onto Aunt Elsy's balcony all the time, though she always gets this really creepy smile on her face when I ask her why. Adults are so weird," she remarked as she crossed her legs under her and looked utterly content to be with him again.

Upon seeing her again, Kai suddenly felt remorse for what he had done again, especially as he looked at her hair, which had been cut to get rid of the scorched ends. One of her pigtails was now much shorter than the other, which made her look even sillier than before, though he knew he had no right to make fun of her when he had been the one that caused it.

"Hey Gerdy, I'm really sorry about today. Because of me, you almost…" he began, hunching forward on the floor and turning a bit from her, if only to hide the sorrow he still felt at making her cry.

The tone made her cock her head slightly, though she quickly waved off his concerns. "Psh, don't worry about it," she replied, though suddenly gave him a sharp glance as her fingers reached up and dawdled at her hair. "But if you laugh at my hair, I'll hurt you."

While he would have usually been quick to tease her, he was still moody and sighed, while she let her blue eyes drift out the window as she thought about the day's events. "You know, I thought your fire snake thing was pretty neat, for a while anyway," she recalled, a smile still on her as she thought about how extraordinary her cousin was. Then, a smirk replaced her smile as she looked back at him.

"But your aim with the ice stinks."

Kai rolled his eyes slightly and put his head into his hand, feeling annoyed that she was right about that, and once more thinking about how his parents were no help when it came to controlling his magic. "Yeah, I know," he snorted, then winced as he thought about the look on his father's angry face. "I got yelled at by my dad"

"Yeah, I know," she echoed.

"How do you know?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I was kind of listening?" she offered.

That sounded just like her and he fell back into his mood, thinking of how often he was at odds with his father and how angry it made him to think of the fantastic things he could be doing with his magic, but was never allowed. "He never understands how I feel. Him and Mom control their magic perfectly, but they never teach me! They tell me I need to learn how to control myself before I can control the magic, but I don't even know what that means!" he vented, staring at the shadows cast by some chess pieces in the moonlight, his eyes most fiercely on the king. When he thought about how much he wanted to be just like him and couldn't, it made his eyes narrow and his lips draw down.

"Sometimes, I wish I never had these powers in the first place."

So many people treated him like some kind of amazing creature because of the powers he inherited from his parents, yet it was the both of them that seemed the least impressed, as if they were somehow ashamed by them. The two people in the world that he could relate to treated him like a child, with too much caution to what his powers might do. He couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to freely use them as they did. It drove him to resent them, even though he loved them more than anything.

It was a strangely painful feeling in his chest, and he hated the fact that no one could possibly understand how he felt.

While Kai was stewing, a sudden weight pushed down on his back and he grunted, feeling Gerda's back against his as she casually reclined onto him, her hands behind her head and her sparkling eyes in utter contradiction to the gloom in his. "I like your magic," she remarked, kicking her feet out as she made sure to push down on him completely, if only to make sure he knew she was there. "How many other kids can shoot fire and ice out of their hands or turn their eyes orange?"

"It's the only time they match."

The remark about his eyes made them roll, and he stared at the floor in contempt at the way she was pressing down on him, even if he was glad she was there. "It never happens on purpose," he replied, thinking about how the orange in his eyes was about the only thing he had in common with his infamous father.

As he thought about him and the force of his eyes, he quietly took his advice and thought back on the day, trying to find the lessons that were there for him, which was easier now that he had Gerda with him, safe and smiling once more. Just trying to figure out their message at least made him feel that much closer to them.

"But I guess I kind of understand why they're so worried," he admitted quietly, looking to his hands, "Sometimes I don't feel like I control the magic, more like it just does what it wants. Someday, I might really do something terrible. One day, I might..."

Once more, he began to descend into melancholy until Gerda suddenly rocked her head backwards and clonked him, making a dull ringing fill his ears as he bucked her off. "Ow!" he protested and twisted to glare at her, though he found her looking right back, not impressed by his persistent gloominess.

"You worry too much. It makes you really look like your dad," she complained.

Kai was running his hand over the tender spot on his head and scowled, though he didn't retaliate as he usually would have, instead turning his back on her and becoming even grumpier at the remark. "Gee, thanks," he snorted. With his fingers slipping through his dark hair, he was trying to focus his thoughts back onto the matter at hand. He knew he was supposed to be reflecting on something and that his father would expect some kind of answer the next time they spoke. The most annoying part was that he didn't even understand the question, and that trying to understand it was only making him angrier.

It wasn't until he felt her as his back again that he was torn from his mood, though this time Gerda had slipped her arms around him and hugged him from behind, leaning her head against him and letting out a warm and inviting sigh. Her sudden gesture made his back stiffen and his eyes stare forward into the darkness, not knowing what she was trying to do now.

Sometimes, his cousin did the strangest things and it always had the strangest effect on him.

"Uhm, Gerda?" he whispered.

"I'll always be here for you, you know," she said, making sure to squeeze him and give him reassurances to his troubled heart, "I'll help you keep the magic under control and make sure you never hurt anyone with it. I promise."

She had obviously been sensing how disturbed he was, with her response being to remind him that they shared a bond unlike anyone else, and that no matter what happened to him or what he might do, she would do exactly what she was promising, for the reasons she could only explain from the depths of her heart.

"Because you're my best friend, Kai, and I love you."

The simple words made his cheeks feel warm and he had to look forward to disperse it. Gerda was his family, and he knew that there was a standard expectation of love there, yet hearing her say it out loud made him realize how powerful it was, like not even his magic could compare. When he thought about how a careless moment might take her away from him, he suddenly began to understand what his parents had been telling him, that he was the only one that could keep her safe, and that he had to treat the fire and ice with respect or it would never bow to his whim. Just imagining his world without Gerda's smile made him wipe away all of the brooding and the anger, instead deciding that he would accept the love that she bore for him and return it with all of his heart.

For he loved Gerda too, and was willing to do anything for her.

"Yeah," he replied and closed his eyes, a smile finally working its way over his lips as he felt her warm embrace around him.

"Thanks, Gerdy."

"Okay!" she suddenly barked and it startled him, for she was already on her feet and heading towards the door.

"Okay what?" he asked, reluctantly rising to his feet as he saw at the look in her eyes. That look usually meant they were about to do something they would get in trouble for, and he had been in enough trouble for one day.

Gerda cracked the door open, looking down the halls for anyone that might see, then looking back to him with a glimmer in her eye. "They think we're asleep, and I totally know where my mom hides her chocolates. Let's go pig out," she suggested as she opened the door to this new adventure, curling her hand at him to join her.

Kai was reluctant at first, but he knew there was little chance he would resist her, for when she had an idea like this, there was very little chance to get out of it. He would go on whatever adventures she offered, because he was never any happier than when he was with her, and there didn't seem like anything the two of them couldn't do.

"Yeah, let's do it."


	5. Heirloom

**Heirloom**

On a warm day in early spring, near a crystal lake surrounded by mountains, a royal carriage was making its way home to Arendelle. It was accompanied by a light escort from the Royal Guard, with a large guard driving the team in front of the open coach and the two passengers sitting back against the plush cushion, with one so obviously more at home in comfort than the other. A small town rested by the lake, with wooden buildings cut against the sapphire waves and the bustle of people moving about, many of which who came out along the cobbled road in order to catch a glimpse of the occupants.

As the magical queen of the land wasn't often seen this far from the castle, the townsfolk were eager to catch a glimpse of her royal visage.

"What's the name of this town again?" Elsa asked as she waved to the onlookers, hearing their warm calls and smiling brightly at the attention.

"Lake Point, Your Majesty," the driver replied.

She hummed through a smile, liking the name. It was simple and fitting. Unlike the fjord, there wasn't the usual smell of the ocean, but rather a clean smell of fresh water that came running down the mountains. Fish of different kinds were hung out in the sun. Children ran towards the gravely beaches to play, while the queen took in a deep breath, pulling her attention from the gathering people and turning it on the man who rode next to her.

"I don't think I've ever been to this part of the kingdom. It's pretty close to Fria, isn't it?" she asked, trying to bring him back to the world around them.

Yasha sat stiffly, still shifting his feet uncomfortably as he felt the carriage beneath him. It was obvious he hadn't been sharing her view, though hearing her call the name of his lost homeland, he suddenly looked up to the mountains in the distance.

"I believe so," he answered.

Elsa smirked at his absentmindedness. She had wanted him to ride with her so they could spend some quiet time together, though he had been so preoccupied with the movements of the coach and the way he wasn't at his usual place as her vanguard, the journey had been quieter than she hoped. Since his proposal of marriage, she had been pushing for him to leave behind his vagrant days. He was no longer an exile. He was no longer a wayward prince. He was no longer a captain of her Royal Guard or soon even its baron.

He was the future king, and she wanted him to settle into his place at her side.

To that end, she suddenly leaned against him, wrapping her arm around his and placing her hand across his knotted fist. The sudden intimacy surprised him, though as she was casually resting her head against his shoulder and enjoying the warm sun, he smothered his response, instead breaking open his hand and closing it around hers.

The affectionate response made her sigh happily. "We really should get out into the countryside more often. It's nice to be away from the castle," she mused.

Yasha relaxed, feeling infected by her mood. He was starting to see why she had wanted to simply go for a ride.

"Take your time, Thias," he called to the driver.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Thias replied.

The reply made Yasha's eyes narrow. "'Yes, Baron,'" he corrected sharply. While being rebuked by his baron should have demanded an instant submission, the large guard simply hid his grin as he managed the horses, something that only made Yasha glare more fiercely.

"You're wasting your breath," Elsa remarked, not even bothering to look at his expression. She knew the face he would be wearing.

Yasha bristled. "It appears the Royal Guard has been lacking in discipline lately. Perhaps a nice long hike through the hills might remind them exactly how to address their baron."

While Thias grimaced at the punishment he was earning himself and his fellow guards, Elsa leaned up and placed a charitable hand across his back, dismissing all of Yasha's authority. "You're perfectly fine, Thias," she said, then giving Yasha a stern glare, "He's the one who needs to remember what he should be called."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Thias replied, happy to be acquitted.

Yasha returned her stare, a mixture of offense and submission in his eyes. "Insubordination," he cawed, though he almost seemed to enjoy it when she asserted her authority as she did.

Elsa quirked her brow. "Now you're forgetting who the queen is around here," she warned.

Since his surprise proposal in front of the kingdom, she had been more aggressive towards him, as she had finally found the right to claim him as he had always wanted to claim her. Since he had so plainly stated his intentions to share her throne, she felt like she could longer had to cater to his more stubborn tendencies. She could simply treat him as if he were all hers.

Because he was.

To disperse the contentious air, she gingerly laid her head back against his shoulder, once more becoming his tender lover, while still retaining the authority in her voice. "I like it when they call you that. It sounds...right," she mused, then let her smile widen as she played with the glowing ring on her finger.

"And pretty soon, you won't have any more excuses."

Her commanding tone dissolved his offense, and he quietly gave into her. "Yes, Your Majesty," he replied.

His submissive salute made her smother a laugh, then remain carefully tucked at his side as she once more turned her eyes out to the scenery around them, though still playing with the ring as her hand rested within his.

The carriage passed through the main area of the town, and many of the crowds were left behind to chatter at the royal visit. As her betrothed had finally relaxed, Elsa found the ride far more enjoyable, even if the silence remained. Now her mind was swimming with thoughts of their impending marriage, with the way her life was about to change. She could have spent the entire ride home just quietly basking in that fact, but as they passed through the outlying marks of the town, a strange, singing whine began to rise through the air, first so subtly that she barely noticed, but soon becoming so loud that she leaned up from her daydream, looking around them to try and find the source.

"What is that? Can you hear it?" she asked.

At her side, Yasha was stiff once more. The sound had a very different effect on him, as he didn't regard it as some benign oddity, but something intimate and almost forgotten.

He had heard this sound before.

Just as they all realized where the sound originated from, Yasha pulled his dagger from his belt, exposing its black blade to the sun and gasping at the way the red markings flared brightly. "Xenocryst?" he whispered, staring at the blade as the others did the same, then his eyes falling into an elusive memory somewhere in the back of his mind.

"It hasn't done that since..."

Elsa frowned, now looking to him more than the blade. "Since?"

Yasha suddenly rose to his feet, his hand to Thias's back. "Stop the carriage," he ordered, feeling the coach come to a halt as he wrenched his head around, looking in all directions. Elsa watched him anxiously, yet even as he scanned the dilapidated houses and mills around them, he said nothing, something that only infected the others with his uneasy mood.

Suddenly, he jumped from the coach, hitting the ground in a hurried jog while calling over his shoulder to his shocked party. "Stay with the queen!"

"Yasha!" Elsa called as he disappeared into the broken structures, then looked to Thias with a worried glance.

In the shadow of a broken mill and far from the eyes of the town, three young men surrounded a teenage girl. They carried tools for farming, yet were obviously engaged in other activities, one that forced the girl back against an ancient stone wall, her posture coiled and her eyes fierce.

"I'm warning you..." she hissed, holding a small knife in defense and quickly darting her eyes between them.

The first young man laughed as if it were some game, dancing slightly as he avoided her blade but still trying to get inside its reach. "Come on, Alyssa. Put the knife away and play nice with us. It's not like anyone's coming to help you," he sneered.

"Like your old man, the prince!" the second laughed.

The third also tried to wiggle his way inside of her defenses, his eyes cast wickedly on the way her torn clothes revealed the top of her heaving chest. "We'll play with you real nice like. Even let you call us 'Daddy,' if you want."

The girl growled wildly at their advances, keeping the knife up as her last salvation and cursing that she had been careless enough to cut through the old mill. As she had expected them to be out in the fields, she was surprised when they ambushed her. Now, she could only hope the fear of her knife would deter them enough to get away, though with how aggressive they had been getting lately, she wasn't sure they would leave her alone this time.

"You there!" a voice suddenly called, surprising all of them. A man in a regal uniform had intruded on the scene, and was glaring at them with eyes as fierce as the girl's.

Then he was coming at them.

"Who is that? A soldier?" the first young man asked, taking a step back. The others couldn't answer, as they had never seen him before, yet as he carried a dagger and approached ferociously, they became skittish and looked between each other.

"She's not worth it. Let's get out of here!" the second croaked and fled, with the other two scattering as well. Only the girl remained behind, staring after them before turning her attention on her apparent savior.

Yasha came to a halt before her, but still looked after the men. He had no idea what was going on, but cursed under his breath at the way they scattered in different directions, though as his dagger continued to sing, he slowly shifted his attention to the scared girl.

After noticing the knife in her shaky hands, his eyes widened.

"It is you," he gasped.

"Who are you?" she hissed as she flared the knife at him, "You want some of me too?"

He barely acknowledged her posture. "Where did you get that blade?" he demanded. His fixation on her knife made her wince, then appear even more defensive. Yasha waited silently for her answer, his eyes moving from the knife to her anxious face, though it wasn't until Elsa and their escort came upon them that the stalemate seemed to be broken.

"Yasha! What's gotten into you?" the queen called as she came to his side, then noticed the frightened girl he had cornered. She was very surprised to see what he had found. "Who is this?"

"Stay back! All of you!" the girl cried, aiming her knife at each of them and wondering what she did to earn such bad luck today. "If you come any closer, I'll cut you to pieces!"

Seeing the girl brandishing a weapon, the guards instantly went on alert, with swords being drawn and spears being leveled. "Protect the king and queen!" Thias roared, something that made the girl cower in fear.

"Hold!" Yasha barked, his hand out to restrain them.

While still tense, the guards obeyed, leaving their baron to step towards her, speaking with a firm tone in his voice. "I will ask you again. Where did you get that blade?"

While she was now more frightened than ever, the girl continued to act defiantly, aiming the knife back at him and coiling even further into the stone wall. "If you're so interested, come closer and I'll tell you all about it," she snarled, though desperately hoped he wouldn't take her up on her offer.

Yasha let out a slow breath. At his side, Elsa looked between them, not knowing what he was planning. A small glimmer of hope flowered when he slowly replaced the dagger at his belt, but was instantly dashed as he walked towards the girl, obviously intent upon putting his life at risk and making her sick with worry.

Her greatest fear coming true, the girl heaved as he approached, the knife shaking wildly in her hands, until she was finally tired of being pushed around and decided to make someone sorry for not leaving her alone. Wildly and without restraint, she slashed out with the knife, though the blade completely missed his chest. While she wasn't sure if she had been simply too far away, she shrieked and brought the blade back across him, though this time her entire arm went numb as his hand darted out and caught her wrist, then pinched down on it on the strangest way. Grunting, she tried to break free, but was even more surprised when he tore the knife from her grasp. Before she could protest, she felt her arm wrenched up and her body pitched downwards, making her bow painfully before him and wonder exactly what had happened.

"Ugh! Let me go!" she cried, then was even more surprised when he did so, pushing her back against the wall carelessly and walking back towards the others, his gaze fixed on the knife she had lost. Seeing him holding it made a frustrated whimper burst from her throat. "Give that back!" she demanded as she lurched, though with the way the guards once more readied their weapons, she stuttered to a halt, glaring hatefully at the man who had disarmed her.

After watching the quick exchange, Elsa frowned, looking from the angry girl to her betrothed. Sometimes, she was reminded just how dangerous he could be. "Was that really necessary?" she said in scolding tone, though couldn't help but be drawn to the knife he was obviously so interested in.

Suddenly, she gasped. "Isn't that...?"

In Yasha's hand was a blade black, with red markings swirling dimly through the exotic material. It wasn't as elegant as his dagger, with the smaller blade turned and chipped, but it was obviously of the same kind, which made him stare at it intently, turning a dozen questions over in his mind. "The blade of a Xenocryst, but broken and made into this crude knife," he replied distantly, then slowly looked back to the girl, now just as interested in her, "Who are you? Where did you come across this blade?"

The girl heaved angrily, looking between him and the knife. As much as she wanted to tear it from his hand, their escort made her hesitate and offer no explanation. The silence made Yasha's temper flare, though suddenly another woman appeared in the ruin, dismissing the armed guards and rushing to the girl, throwing her arms around her and protecting her from whatever fate had found her.

"Please wait! I don't know what she's done, but please forgive her!" the woman pleaded.

Her appearance stalled Yasha's anger, though the young girl stirred in the woman's arms, still fixated solely on the knife. "He took father's knife!" she cried.

"Your father?" Elsa gasped, looking to Yasha slowly. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was slowly grasping what was going on, though she was still in the dark. It was the only other Xenocryst she had seen, though judging by his reaction, that wasn't true for him. She had as many questions as anyone, though as this was obviously rooted from his life in Fria, she was hesitant to go digging.

Yasha's past was a frightening thing, a fact stated by the way he looked past the knife to the two strangers, his eyes nearly as heated as the tone in his voice.

"My lady, I would have you tell me of your husband."

* * *

"Erik wasn't my husband. At least, we never had the chance to get married," Meredith explained as she busily tried to straighten up her home. Situated on the outskirts of the town, it was as tattered as the area around it. The walls had holes. Pans were scattered around to catch rainwater. Other than the various plants and herbs growing in carefully maintained pots, it could have easily been mistaken as abandoned, just like the mill they had met in. Yet this was where she lived with her only daughter, Alyssa, and where the queen and her baron now sat in anticipation of her story. "He came to our village a long time ago. Hung around, doing odd jobs. Kept to himself really, but there was always something about him. Something special."

"I must have felt sorry for him, or maybe it was because of the mystery surrounding him, but one night we just sort of..." she continued, suddenly patting her cheeks at the details she was sharing, "Oh, listen to me. I'm talking about things I shouldn't, and in front of the queen no less."

"Oh no, you're fine," Elsa assured her, smiling to help her relax, "It's a sweet story."

The woman shared her smile after a moment, still barely able to believe she was entertaining the renowned queen of their kingdom in her humble home. "Well, our time together wasn't that long, but Erik gave me the most wonderful gift in Alyssa," she said, looking towards the broken stairs, where she knew the young girl had fled, "Life hasn't been easy for her, the poor girl. Growing up without a father has made her a little rough around the edges, and those bratty boys never seem to let her alone. But she's always held that knife so close to her heart. It's the only thing she has left of her father."

Slowly, she turned her attention to the man at the queen's side, still barely able to grasp how familiar he seemed. "I'd be so very appreciative if you'd return it, my lord."

Yasha felt her eyes on him as he continued staring at the knife, though he had listened to every word. It was surreal to hold another Xenocryst in his hands, especially when it had such significant pedigree, though after looking up to her and seeing the look in her eyes, he knew he couldn't hold it forever.

Reverently, he grasped the blade and presented to the handle to her.

With a quiet breath, she took it from his hand.

"Thank you," she said, holding it in her lap and casting her eyes down to the black blade. "It's such a strange knife, almost like it's alive. It's no wonder she cares for it so."

After sharing a glance with Elsa, Yasha slowly reached back to his belt and slid his dagger out, placing the blade into his palm and presenting it to Meredith. The woman looked to it and gasped. It took her a moment to grasp the meaning. "It's the same as Erik's!" she cried, almost reaching out to touch it, but then shaking her head and looking up to him in confusion. "I don't understand. Where did you get this?"

"What did he tell you of the land he came from?" Yasha asked.

Meredith winced. "Fria?" she said, furrowing her brow as she tried to recall, "Bits and pieces. He always looked so angry when I asked about it. I always though it must have been a terrible place to make him hate it so."

Yasha watched her every response.

"Did you know of his powers?"

"Powers?" she gasped, though her eyes betrayed the lie she was about to tell as she shook her head slightly. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, my lord."

"This man, Erik, was able to conjure flame from his hands and cast it like magic. His eyes would glow orange when taken by anger. I think you know of what I speak," he remarked, seeing in her eyes that she understood all of it, even if she remained quiet to his inquiries. "It is the same magic I once had, as a prince of Fria."

His words made her sink back in her chair, her hand over her mouth. For a moment, she looked at an empty spot on the floor, trying to digest what he was telling her. She could barely believe her ears. "So it's true. Oh Erik, you really were telling the truth," she stammered, lost in the past. Yasha waited patiently as she reminisced, though winced as she began to laugh bitterly at the truth behind her lover's lineage. "He told me never to speak of it, not even to Alyssa. I didn't even believe him until he showed me, and then it was still so hard to take in. A prince! My Erik, a prince!"

"And the rest of it? Is it all true? About his father, the king?"

Quietly, Yasha nodded.

"Then you're the same as him? The magic? The curse?" she asked anxiously.

"I was. Now things are different. I freed myself from that fate," he replied.

"Erik said there was no way to be free of the curse. That's why he ran away," she said, tightening her hands around the handle of the knife. "How did you do this?"

Yasha leaned back, his eyes growing dark and his tone following.

"I killed our father, King Nazir."

Suddenly, there was a clamor on the stairs. All eyes shot to the feet that disappeared at the top, while Meredith tried to summon her daughter back. "Alyssa!" she cried, then sighed heavily as she realized the weight of what she might have learned, "Oh, she must have overheard you. She's always believed the story about her father being a prince, and her grandfather a king. It's one of the reasons the boys harass her as they do. I think this may all be a bit more than she can take in."

Yasha stirred apprehensively, but it was Elsa that rose, putting her hand across his shoulder. "I'll go," she offered, seeing just how disturbed he was by the fact that Alyssa had been listening. While Yasha often put on a villain's mask, she understood how much this surprise meeting might mean to him and wanted to do what she could to make sure he didn't scare away the young girl.

Especially as she was slowly coming to understand what her relationship to Yasha might really be.

After patting him once more, she started towards the stairs, but was stopped by Meredith. "Your Highness," she called, presenting the knife out to her, "Please take this to Alyssa. It might calm her down."

While having a frightening history with a blade just like it, the queen smiled softly and took it, offering a resolute nod at her task. "Okay," she agreed and the right weapon in hand, Elsa ascended the rickety stairs, disappearing just as Alyssa had and leaving both Meredith and Yasha to look hopefully after them.

"She really is so much like Erik. Such hot blood," the woman sighed, hoping the queen could reach her.

Yasha was dominated by the revelations of the meeting, though as he continued to review the life that had unfolded here, he suddenly felt rushed to seek out his blood, in spite of how much he had always resisted it. His heart was burning and he felt uncharacteristically hasty.

Even though he knew what he would find, he still had to ask.

"Meredith, I realize we have only just met, but I would very much like to see my brother," he requested.

* * *

"Alyssa?" Elsa said as she poked her head into the small room at the top of the stairs, swiping at a spider web that tickled her neck.

"Go away!" cried a voice from within.

Elsa frowned. It wasn't the reception she wanted, but knew she had to push forward for Yasha's sake. "I'd like to talk to you, if you'll let me," she said softly, taking a few steps into the room and looking for the elusive girl.

After a few moments of silence and darkness, the girl from mill stuck halfway out of a slot in the wall, her pale blue eyes locked on the invader to her room. Elsa wondered why there was such a place to hide in her room, but decided to forgo any assumptions and concentrate on luring out this reluctant shadow.

"Please?"

Alyssa hesitated, though her eyes were locked on her. Her breath was hanging on her lips. "You're the queen, aren't you? You're Queen Elsa?"

"Yes," she answered with a nod.

The shadow laid her head against the wood, looking her over in awe. "You really are as beautiful as they say," she whispered.

The remark made a warm blush touch Elsa's face and she laughed softly, then fanned her hands across her dress to try and make her as presentable as the girl expected.

"Thank you," she replied.

As the girl was still unwilling to come out, Elsa took a short breath and stepped over to the bed, quietly sitting down. She thought to herself on how rough the wool bedding felt at her touch. "Would you come and sit with me? I promise not to freeze you or anything," she joked, trying to lighten the mood as she patted the bed next to her.

The request made the shadow duck slightly, though after a few moments of intense deliberation, the girl left her slotted sanctuary and came over, sitting on the bed next to Elsa.

Finally having a good look at her, Elsa marveled at how much she resembled Yasha. She looked about fifteen, just on the edge of turning into a woman. Her hair was dark, cut short unlike what was fashionable in the kingdom, and her eyes were pale blue, shaped much like his. A few freckles dotted her cheeks, though she knew those came from her mother. It was obvious why the young men harassed her, for she was subtly beautiful, even when covered with dirt and sweat.

The girl consciously tugged at her ragged clothes, her eyes cast down as she bit her bottom lip, while Elsa smiled warmly, trying to get her to relax. "Here, I think this is yours," she said, holding out the knife that brought them all together. Just seeing it made Alyssa's face blossom.

As she took it carefully from the hands of her queen, she wrapped it tightly into her lap, and her eyes fell to the floor once more. "Thank you," she whispered.

Elsa watched her intently. She liked how gentle she seemed. "So, you have this room all to yourself?" she mused, looking around at the extreme slant of the roof and the sparse furniture, though retained her kind smile no matter what she might see. "It's very...cozy."

"You can say it's dirty. And small," Alyssa grumbled, tightening her hug around the knife. "I can't believe the queen is sitting in my room. I'm so embarrassed."

"Oh, I don't know. It's not much different from my room when I was your age," she replied dismissively, looking around at the things they had in common, "A doll. A mirror."

"Not as many icicles, I think," she added.

The remark almost made Alyssa laugh, which made Elsa smile. In spite of the differences in their lives, she wanted to nurture the things they had in common, especially with Alyssa's connection to her Yasha. She also knew to give a young girl time.

Quietly looking around the room, she resolved to let her find her own footing.

"Do you think…" Alyssa suddenly said, making Elsa look to her. The attention made her almost retreat, though since she had the world's most famous queen in her room, she found she couldn't let the opportunity go. "Do you think I could see your magic?"

Elsa smiled, happy that her magic was now something that brought her closer to people. Leaning forward, she swirled her hand over a spot on the floor and made a rose made of pure ice grow before Alyssa's widened eyes. The delicate petals bloomed amidst her gasps and the magic even danced through the air and made a few snowflakes appear in her room. It brought a bright dash of color against the gray, aged wood.

"How's that?" Elsa asked.

"It's amazing! I heard the stories, but seeing it in person is so much cooler," Alyssa replied, though realized her choice of words and gave Elsa a frightened glance, "Oh! No offense, Your Highness."

Elsa laughed. "None taken."

Upon finding the queen wasn't nearly as scary as she imagined, Alyssa relaxed slightly, turning her attention back to the flower. The sparkling creation was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, yet in spite of that fact, something else was tugging on her mind, and even more so on her heart.

"Queen Elsa, who is that man with you?" she asked quietly, playing her fingers across the knife, "He reminds me of my father for some reason."

Elsa was encouraged by the change of subject. "His name is Yasha," she replied, thinking carefully how to approach her, "And I guess he's your uncle. From what I understand, your father is his brother."

"Father's brother?" Alyssa gasped. Her father was a subject close to her heart, but from the moment he happened upon them, Yasha had done nothing but frighten her. It was a stark contrast from the feelings she felt from the memories of her father.

"But he said he killed Grandfather! He was a king!" she cried, disturbed at how much anger there had been in his voice as he admitted it. "Did...he really do such an awful thing?"

Elsa frowned. "Alyssa, Nazir was..." she began, then let out a long sigh as she touched her fingers to her temple, "How do I even explain this? The story behind Yasha, your father and grandfather is very complicated. But Yasha did what he had to do in order to help his people, the people of Fria. He set them all free. I think your father might be able to appreciate that."

"Father can't appreciate anything. He's dead," Alyssa whispered sadly.

While Elsa had expected that based on Yasha's own tale, she nodded consolingly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It happened when I was little. I only remember a few things about him clearly, but he was always so kind," Alyssa remembered, smiling slightly as she ran her finger over the blade. "He could even use magic."

"You know about that?" Elsa asked.

Alyssa nodded. "He told me not to tell anyone. He would make pebbles disappear from his hand, then they would appear behind my ear," she explained.

Elsa nodded as well. "Oh, that kind of magic."

The memories fed the smile on her face and Alyssa sighed, finding it strange that talking to Elsa like this made her both happy and sad at the same time. Reminiscing about her father with the queen wasn't what she had expected to do when she woke up in the morning, but she also hadn't expected to find she had an uncle in the world, and that her father really had been a prince.

The day had been full of surprises.

"They were stupid tricks, but I loved them. I loved him. I don't know why he had to die. It's like his heart just stopped," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly as a tear dropped and shattered across the black blade.

Elsa was moved by her tears and felt an intense desire to put her arm around her. This sadness was something she knew all too well. "My father also died long ago. I think I might have cried for an entire week. He was kind as well, and I loved him so much that I couldn't imagine my life without him," she recalled, feeling the ancient sadness of those days, but then letting her smile grow as she remembered just how much Anna had saved her, "And then I realized the family I had left was something so very precious to me. Now, I try to spend every day remembering how much I love my sister, and how love like that isn't like any other love in the world."

Alyssa shrugged and pushed her hand over her cheeks, wiping the tears away bitterly. "I try not to make trouble for Mother, but everyone treats us funny because Father never married her. And sometimes those stupid boys are just so mean," she sniffled.

"Sometimes people don't act like they should when dealing with something they don't understand, like the love your mother had for your father. It's all the more reason you hold the ones that do understand you so close to your heart," Elsa counseled.

"I guess so," the teary girl replied.

Elsa gently reached over, placing her hands over the girl's. With all of the talk of family, she was truly beginning to see how much Alyssa might mean to Yasha. "Alyssa, I know this might be sudden, but Yasha is your family too," Elsa offered, "It sounds like he's a lot like your father. He's really very kind."

Alyssa frowned, though didn't pull away from the queen's warm touch. "He seems sort of scary," she admitted.

"Well, you two didn't get off to a very good start, and sometimes he can be a bit of a grump," Elsa mused, then let a warm smile spread over her face as she was once more reminded of her future with him, "But one day soon, I'm going to marry that grump, so I guess that means we'll be family too."

The news made Alyssa look up, her red eyes trying wide in surprise. The way she searched Elsa's eyes made the queen laugh slightly, mostly as it still made her giddy to imagine being married to her dangerous, beautiful Yasha.

"Me and the queen? Family?" Alyssa gasped.

Elsa nodded. "Would you like that?"

"Yes!" the girl cried, throwing her arms around the queen as the moment took her. The sudden burst made Elsa chirp slightly, though she then returned the sudden embrace, laughing at how the prospect of family could completely change the sadness in a young girl's life.

Family was truly powerful magic.

Upon realizing she was brazenly hugging the queen, Alyssa lurched back, horrified at her behavior and suffering a bright blush across her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness! I didn't mean to just hug you like that," she said.

"It's all right," Elsa laughed, keeping her hands on Alyssa's and letting her take a moment to regain her composure.

Completely unlike the frightened girl from before, Alyssa's beauty bloomed as she smiled, glowing in anticipation of being given this new life, where the famous Queen Elsa held her warmly and granted her such affectionate smiles. She began to suspect she might be dreaming after all.

"I want you to give Yasha a chance," Elsa requested, keeping her hands tightly on her. As much as the girl connected with the queen, the mention of him stoked fear in her, even though he would be that connection between them and he obviously had such a special place in Elsa's eyes. "Please. You may find he's not nearly as scary as you think," she added, still smiling and hoping she could find the same understanding of her equally famous uncle.

Alyssa searched her face, not knowing if she had the courage to do as she asked, yet in the queen's eyes she saw the same thing that was in her mother's, a love for someone so powerful that it defied all common sense and consumed every piece of them. Remembering how much she cared for her father as well made it easier to consider her uncle, and that even though he still scared her with his fierce eyes and casual claims of patricide, she might be brave enough to see him again, if only to see what kind of man had won the heart of the infamous Snow Queen.

* * *

Behind the tattered home, there was a grave. It was placed with great care among the old trees of the yard and kept clean of branches and vines. Before the grave knelt Yasha, his eyes pensively on the marker and his bare hand running across the rough stone. There was only a name etched there. No date. No eulogy. There was only the obvious care taken to keep it clear, and he knew that was far more important than any sentiment a poem could convey.

"Forgive me, Brother. I did not act in time to save you," he repented solemnly.

Meredith stood behind him, watching quietly. She hadn't spoken. A strange, somber expression dominated her face and Yasha felt the weight of her eyes, so much so it broke him from his wake.

"What is it?" he asked, not turning.

"It's strange seeing someone other than Alyssa looking over him," she replied, shrugging at how poorly she could explain it, "I guess I've always wanted it to be our private place."

Yasha pursed his lips slightly, wanting to preserve that feeling for her, yet equally wanting to share in it. "If you would allow me, I would like to return here from time to time," he requested.

A bitter smile crossed her face. "I can't really say no to the future king," she replied.

The musing was met with silence as Yasha continued to address the grave, and she watched his every move, realizing how much he was like her beloved Erik. "Was it truly as bad as he described it?" she suddenly asked, "In Fria, I mean."

Standing slowly, he frowned at the subject. "If he despised his fate as I did mine, then whatever he told you of our father was most certainly accurate," he answered. Suddenly, he heard her sob, making him turn. Her eyes were red with tears and her lips quivered. She was staring at the grave longingly, her hand held over her chest and trying to contain her emotions.

Yasha quietly watched her mourn.

"I'm sorry," she wept, "I just miss him, even more now."

It wasn't hard to tell what his brother meant to her, by her words and her tears. The way she suddenly wanted to see him again stoked similar feelings in his chest, even though he had never met him and couldn't know him as she did. The fate of his countless brothers was like a shadow to him. He knew so many had gone out into the world, yet so few had ever come back, and those that did were devoured by their despotic father. To find even one, not to mention the remnants of his abridged life, made Yasha want to protect everything that had ever touched Erik, and do it with all the strength of his heart.

"Meredith, it may be imprudent of me, but I would like you to bring Alyssa and come to Arendelle," he suddenly said.

The offer took her by surprise. "What?"

"Your daughter Alyssa is all that remains of my family. While I have no love for the blood of my father, she carries our kingdom in her veins. She is a princess of Fria. I would like the both of you to stay near, where I might take care of you," he explained.

Meredith took a deep breath, trying to accept what she was hearing. The baron of the Royal Guard and future king of Arendelle was offering to rescue them from their lives of poverty, giving Alyssa a life she never could. There would be no more days of being hungry and no more harsh glances from the shadows in town. In truth, she could barely imagine what that life would be like, though as she looked past him and to the grave once more, her features softened and she took a deep breath, her tone unwavering.

"You're very kind, my lord, but I can't leave Erik," she replied, watching his expression fall. Buried in memories, she looked up at her jagged house, not ever imagining herself ever being anywhere else. "This is my home. If Alyssa would someday want to go, I would be happy to see her free from this place, but I will always be here, where I can watch over the one I loved until I finally sleep next to him."

"I see," he sighed, not able to hide his disappointment.

In truth, he understood her, so he couldn't fight her. A part of him wanted to stay as well and just sit before his brother's grave, silently trying to keep him alive for all eternity. While he couldn't force them to come, he knew there was something he could do for them as he reached back and untied a small satchel from his belt, then stepped in close to her, pressing it into her hand. "Then you must take this."

Meredith could feel the weight of the gold coins in her palm and looked up to deny him, though he was also as steadfast in his refusal as she was in her own. "I will not allow you to refuse. It is a command from your future king," he stated, denying her any say in the matter.

"Please. Use this to protect the last of my family."

Meredith tried to raise a protest, but ultimately sighed instead, nodding. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will do as you ask."

Knowing this was but the first of the ways he would support them, Yasha smiled lightly, happy he could at least do something. "I will send more as needed. Even if I cannot have you near, I will always take care of you," he swore, looking back to the grave where the blood of their father lay.

"In honor of my brother."

* * *

After a long intervention in Alyssa's room, Elsa stood out in front of the carriage, surrounded by the escort of Royal Guards and chatting idly with Thias. She had already sent a guard to talk with the town mayor in order to make arrangements for the two, but until Alyssa found enough courage to step out of her hiding place, she would never really know Yasha as Elsa did and find out just how special family could be. At times, she would glance up at the home and see the flashes of the girl's face, though she sighed when she thought of how she wouldn't come down and meet the family she had only just discovered. She had hoped to give Yasha the chance to meet his niece, but the atmosphere told her it might be best to give her some time and let them come together naturally.

After a long time at the grave, Yasha finally emerged from the back of the house, making the guards snap to attention. Elsa smiled in spite of his pensive expression.

"All finished?" she called as he walked up.

"For now," he replied, then looked around for any sign of the young girl. Her absence made him frown. "Will Alyssa not come?"

Elsa smiled weakly. "She's still a little afraid. I think it takes everyone some time to warm up to you," she remarked.

"Right on that," Thias agreed as he remembered his first introduction to the prince of Fria, though a stern glare from Yasha made his back stiffen and he coughed loudly, taking the reins tightly in his hands. "Whenever you're ready, Your Majesties."

Yasha let his indignation go as he looked back to the house, a deep sigh escaping him. "I would see them taken care of, Elsa. Please indulge me on this," he remarked as he inspected the poor condition of the home.

"You don't even have to ask," she assured him.

After lingering a few moments longer, they realized the young girl wouldn't see them off as Meredith emerged from the home, shaking her head sadly. The refusal made Yasha frown, though he realized he had little right to demand Alyssa's affection. They were essentially strangers, even if they were family. His only hope was that someday she wouldn't be afraid of him, something he knew he would have to work at.

Turning to help Elsa, he accepted her consoling gaze as she stepped into the carriage, though soon a wailing sound came from the home and made them turn back, Yasha's eyes alight with hope.

"Please wait!"

Alyssa came to a skidding halt in front of him, gasping slightly from the rush and still clutching the knife that had brought them together. She had caught them before they left, though now she seemed uncertain as she looked up, once more shrinking back from his powerful eyes. Yet she had resolved to face him, if only to see just how alike her father he really was.

"Father's knife. Ever since you came, it's been singing," she panted, looking down the knife and the way it still rang out into the air. Gulping down a few more breaths, she looked back up, hoping he was as kind as the queen had claimed. "Do you know why?"

To answer her question, Yasha reached back to his belt, slowly sliding his own Xenocryst from its sheath. Like the smaller blade, it was also singing, and the harmony between them made Alyssa's expression bloom in amazement.

"They are reacting to one another," he explained, holding his blade next to hers, "All Xenocryst blades come from the same place."

"In a way, they are like family being reunited after a long time apart."

The explanation, along with the two blades, went a long way in convinced her of Elsa's words. Unlike before, when she looked up to his eyes, he saw that they were kind after all, much like her father's had been. The relevance of the day was finally hitting her as she started feeling the same sense of security by being near him, and the way even his stern voice could make her feel safe.

"Do you think I could I see you again?" she asked, then looked past him to where the queen looked on, "The both of you. If it's not too much of a bother."

"You're always welcome at the castle, Alyssa," Elsa replied warmly.

"And I will come back to visit you and your mother, as often as I am able," Yasha added.

The pledges made Alyssa's face feel warm, and she couldn't control the smile that came over her. "Okay," she said, feeling like she wanted to cry for some reason. Yasha felt the intense urge to reach out and touch her, just for the chance to have contact with his family, though he restrained himself, as he didn't want to do anything to push her away. Instead, he replaced his dagger, then bowed slightly, sincerely hoping that someday soon he could come back and start things right.

Just as he was turning to mount the carriage, Alyssa suddenly took a step forward, her voice fighting against her fear. "And also!" she chirped, though when he turned back, she felt embarrassed, fighting off her blushing blood and tucking her hair back behind her ear. "I know you're going to be the king and everything, and you can really say no if you want but…"

"Would it be all right if I call you Uncle?"

The request was surprising, but it made a much wider smile steal away his features. Feeling warmed by what she offered, he stepped forward, closing the gap between them and reaching up to cover her hands as they still clutched to the singing knife.

"I would be happy if you would," he admitted.

The warmth of his touch made her laugh nervously, then look up with a spectacularly happy smile.

"Thank you...Uncle Yasha."

"Goodbye for now, Alyssa. Take care," he said, then gave her hands one last squeeze before returning to the carriage, where he took his place at Elsa's side. Meredith had come up beside Alyssa and waved to them, with Elsa and Yasha turned to watch them as they left the tattered home, where they had found such a remarkable treasure.

"Aren't you glad we went for this ride? Who would have thought we'd find out that you have a niece?" Elsa noted, still waving as she watched Alyssa's entire body sway back and forth in her exaggerated goodbye. It made her grin. "What a sweet girl."

Yasha glanced over his dagger, listening to the way it stopped singing as they drew farther from its kin. "The legacy of Nazir shows itself in the strangest ways," he remarked, then rested it in his lap and he looked back, letting a long sigh mark his mood. "Now that I know of them, it is difficult to leave."

"But I look forward to the day we meet again, Alyssa, and you can tell me all about my brother Erik, as well as the daughter he left behind."


End file.
